Facebook now only allows 63 characters for visible description

Facebook has made a terrible decision to limit the number of visible characters on posts of pics or links to a Facebook Page (124 characters with spaces in this sentence)

That includes spaces!

So the opening sentence of this blog post would be halved on Facebook. (this sentence is 69 characters with spaces - so you wouldn't see all of this short sentence)

Why is this happening?

Here's Google AI's explanation of what Facebook if trying to do.  

But you do agree with their reasoning? Read on to find out some of my thoughts on the imploications....

Is Facebook trying to behave exactly like an Advertiser?

In effect it is treating every post by all normal Facebook subscribers as if it was an advert.

It seems to want to get us to write ADVERT TITLES for each FB post!

Is it possible that is so they can sneak in more advert content and we won't notice.

Is it possible that it is trying to create more clicks to its site so it can show advertisers a click heavy profile?

Compare Facebook with Instagram

It's very similar to the truncated text associated with an Instagram pic. (73 characters including spaces)

Maybe Facebook is trying to be more like Instagram?

Thing is they are demographically quite different. The big difference being that users of Facebook tend to be older and don't skip or skim text the way those under 40 do.

Older users are readers - and they like to see text.

So maybe Facebook is trying to win back younger users?

However maybe Facebook is also alienating its older users (like me) at the same time?

Compare Facebook with Google

Title Links (Blue Links): Approximately 50–60 characters (or around 600 pixels).

Google AI tells me that the character limit allowed for the title associated with a weblink is 50-60 characters

Hence, one might conclude that Facebook wants us to write titles as the text for the first 63 characters of the description of what a pic is or where a website link leads

Conclusion: we need to get a lot smarter about writing text TITLES for our links or pics on Facebook Pages.

However Google has the advantage that it also shows text AFTER THE TITLE - with no "read more" prompt. i.e. we get to see more text when viewing a link in the Google Search Engine

These are called snippets and there has always been a limit on how many characters get displayed

So what does Google have to say about the ideal length of descriptions (snippets) after the title of a website link?

Something completely different from Facebook!

Guess who's more experienced in the search engine aspects of what gets people to open posts?

Bottom line - Google Search allows at least TWICE THE NUMBER OF CHARACTERS ALLOWED BY FACEBOOK.

Which is WHY the search description for this blog post reads

Facebook wants titles not text for posts on Pages. Check out the changes re text length and compare to what Google thinks is best.

Who do you think understands responsiveness to search engine links better?

Google or Facebook?

Am I hacked or not? Or is it all Google's fault?

I feel like Google has got me running round and round in circles at the moment on my laptop. Plus I think Google may well be the maverick in the mix!

Google is telling me - via Search Console - that a website I own has been hacked i.e. 

• a new sub-domain URLs exists - whereas I never ever use sub-domains
• i.e. sub domain name prefixes exist (e.g. https://hacker.mywebsite.com - where I own mywebsite.com )
• this is identified by gmail headed Alert - Hacked content found on (your website domain name URL)
• they then identify new website owners - of the new sub-domain
• this is identified in a gmail headed New owner for (sub-domain website URL)

Identifying non-existent sub-domains

I need to get them deleted but first I have to find them - and that is proving very difficult

To date, I have been wholly unable to identify any sub-domains - which should be obvious given how my page listing works.

It could be a tiny bit of script somewhere - but I haven't been able to find it as there are no clues as to where it is located.

Removing sub-domains

So I've been looking for help from Google by stopping all the sub-domains from being shared via the Google Search Index instead!

• via the Removals Tool in Search Console (in the Indexing Section in the left hand column)
• BUT this is only a temporary measure

Where you find the Removals tool

Google has acted on all my requests except one - for some reason. Need to work that one out.
However the removal from the index is only temporary - and I still need to work out why they exist.

Non-existent owners with gmails

I've reported the gmail addresses used by new sub-domain owners to Google Gmail 

• despite the fact that Google Search Console say they do not exist!!
• you can check who owns your website / domain name via Search Console Settings and Ownership Verification.

Unhelpful websites

So far, both my domain name registrar (Namecheap) and my website host (Square/Weebly) have proved to be pretty useless at helping me out. 

Neither have explained how the particular hack affecting me happens - and yet I can't be the first.

Apparently it's all down to me!

A helpful site if you get hacked

I have found one helpful website while working my round what on earth is going on.

Take a look at https://hacked.com/been-hacked/ for a page of tips and recommendations.

They also provide remote help for a fee. I've not tried it - as yet.
I'm still working on the principle that Google is doing something wrong!

One more thing..... Country blocking

I've got a stats package which provides very detailed answers and at the moment I have worked out that it looks likely that all the hackers and the sub-domains come from either China or Malaysia

So my next task is to work out how to block China and Malaysia!

I've done this before - but can't remember how and I think it might have been on different webware. 

I think I've just found an inexpensive app which might do this. It's worth a go....

GOOGLE BLOGGER: Album Archive no longer available after 19 July 2023

This is IMPORTANT for all those users of Google Blogger who would like to download their images.

For those using Blogger, you may be aware that all the images you have uploaded to Blogger over time are available in something called Google Archive.

The link to Google Archive for your Google Account is https://get.google.com/albumarchive/ plus a long number which relates to the Google Account you use.

However Google Archive is going away.

Technology giant Google has announced that it is shutting down its Album Archive feature. It will no longer be available to Google users starting July 19, 2023. For those unaware, Album Archive feature allows users to view and manage content from different Google products

So if you want to access easily all the images you have uploaded to your Blogger Blog or other Google Products in the past, you need to download them

For me, some of the images are on old computers which I blew up through overuse(!), so the archive is important to me to remind me what exists in photography or paper form.

How to download your images from Google Archive

You can do this in one of two ways

If you've previously accessed Google Archive, Google knows and will have sent you an email about what to do. 

Basically, in the email Google explains how it wants you to use a function called Google Takeout

• this is a bit longwinded - depending on how many images you have stored.
• you say what you want done with your images
• then Google downloads them - but this can take a long time - so you then have to watch out for the email which says they can now be accessed.
• BUT whether you get what you want is debatable!

I can tell you what what you get this route is NOT necessarily the same as all the images in your Google Archive i.e. what happened to me

However if you go to the Blogger Album bit of your archive, you can also access past album stores of images and download them direct to your hard drive. 

THIS IS WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO TO DOWNLOAD YOUR IMAGES

• go to the three vertical dots top right corner of the view of your images in the archive
• click download the album
• you will then get a file of all your images.

You have until 19 July 2023 to download your pics.

Sketches from 2011 in the Blogger Album for my Sketchbook blog

This is what I did a while back when I realised that Google was at some point going to get rid of access to the Archive.

I'm now checking to make sure I've accessed and downloaded everything I want to.

The big question for me is if they get rid of the archive what happens to all the images on my blog going back 18 years? 

Will they still load?

Blogger problem - unable to upload pictures

I'm afraid I cannot write any blog posts involving images at the moment. 

Google has made a change to its software which is preventing me from uploading images to blog posts.

It's an appalling situation in Google's Chrome. This is the message I get while signed in

It's slightly better in Apple's Safari browser - which is where I found out that they want me to accept all Google Cookies so they can track all my activity.

The latter is illegal in the UK - Google should really mug up on GDPR - it's been around for quite a time (see General Data Protection Regulation ​for Artists and Art Organisations)

I suspect the change has been due to the enormous fine Meta has just received - see Meta: Facebook owner fined €1.2bn for mishandling data | BBC

Facebook's owner, Meta, has been fined €1.2bn (£1bn) for mishandling people's data when transferring it between Europe and the United States.

Issued by Ireland's Data Protection Commission (DPC), it is the largest fine imposed under the EU's General Data Protection Regulation privacy law.

I suspect Google has changed things so they can say "we all agreed to all the cookies" - EXCEPT they obviously don't understand that in the UK we have a legal entitlement to refuse all but essential cookies i.e. they cannot make us accept all cookies!

Looks like Google is setting itself up to get a big fine too!

Reporting copyright infringement & impersonation to Google - MAJOR FAIL

For all those who wonder what happens when you report the infringement of copyright or impersonation of your website or blog to Google.....

• The good news - Google reviewed my report
• The bad news - Google has not done what it told me it had done

In short:

• Earlier this year I found a blog which had lifted my blog posts wholesale - and then changed some of the words - and decorated the blog with Google Adsense adverts
• I reported it to Google in April - but heard nothing
• I reported it again in September with a LOT more detail. To do a report you file a formal copyright infringement report - providing a lot of detail
• see https://support.google.com/legal/troubleshooter/1114905
• see https://support.google.com/legal/troubleshooter/1114905#ts=1115645 (re infringement via Blogger)
• you wait for a long time 
• My first report was ignored. 
• My second report was filed on 14 September; 
• I received an email from the Google Blogger Support Team today (9th November 2020)
• you get an email saying they agree with you - and the blog is now suspended and will no longer be viewable
• you check the URL of the offending blog - and FIND THE BLOG STILL EXISTS!!
• you email the Google Blogger Support Team saying you are very unimpressed and are now writing a blog post about it
• you email the Google Blogger Support Team saying you want to pursue the money paid to the blogger who impersonated by blog

GOOGLE FAIL

Bottom line what looks good on the surface does not deliver in reality

We take inappropriate content seriously
If you see content on a Google product that you believe violates the law or your rights, let us know. We’ll review the material and consider blocking, limiting or removing access to it. Behaviours like phishing, violence or explicit content may also violate our product policies and qualify for removal from Google products. Before creating a request, try to flag the content in the relevant product.

In visual terms this is what the process looks like.......

NEW BLOGGER: Legacy Blogger goes away in September (Take #2)

I inadvertently deleted my blog post - this is Take #2!

This is an update - with the pros and cons of where we are up to in the change to NEW Blogger. It's also relevant to all those who read my last post in June on the change to NEW BLOGGER: Google's NEW Blogger interface does not work properly! 

In short I'm now using NEW Blogger for nearly everything - BUT

• some major omissions have still not been remedied
• Legacy Blogger is now scheduled to disappear in September!

I managed to accidentally delete the post before Google had cached it so this is the new shorthand version

Communication has improved 

Although only if you know where the Blogger Help Community is to find it!  

There has been NO UP DATE ON THE GOOGLE BLOGGER BLOG SINCE MAY! Despite several changes in the date the Legacy Option is going be terminated.

These are summary posts about changes made to date. There have in fact been more - which for some reason they've not recorded. 

• Updates for week of August 1
• Updates for week of August 8
• Updates for week of August 15
• Updates for week of August 22

Update on my last blog post

1. IMPOSSIBLE to upload images from my computer

Then - nobody could upload an image

NOW - uploading an image works but is a bit confusing as to which icon means what in terms of adjusting the image.

Those uploading lots or uploading images bigger than the pixel width of their blog post still seem to be having some problems. I suspect they need to change the dimensions and file size of their images.

2. IMPOSSIBLE to upload videos properly

Google's NEW Blogger interface does not work properly!

The tech people at Google may be regretting the notion of revamping Blogger.  Below I'm itemising the problems I've encountered. There may be more!

If you are an ordinary reader please excuse the VITRIOL - which is included in the hope that somebody from Google Blogger might read it!!

Below are two main faults 

• poorly managed change process
• very poor communication and very poor design

plus a section why the new interface is dysfunctional - which contains 

• 10 points explaining what is wrong with the NEW BLOGGER interface

Poorly managed change process

It's a big mistake to change what works - without

• a very good reason and 
• a very good team to deliver that change 
• a very good communication system for communicating the change

It's an even bigger mistake to announce - with a month to go - that 

• a new interface is to become the default in a month's time 
• WHEN IT DOES NOT WORK

That was the situation in May. We're now reaching the end of June and it would appear that 

• the new Blogger is now the default
• BUT somebody in Google Blogger has seen sense and the message saying that the system would remove the Legacy Blogger has been removed.

They better not remove Legacy Blogger because the system STILL does not work properly - and this post is being written in Legacy Blogger to preserve my sanity and keep my hypertension in check!

Very poor communication and very poor design

It's an even bigger mistake to be appalling at communicating about change - but that is what Google has succeeded in doing

• Nothing on the Google Blog - 'The Keyword'. Apparently Blogger is a Google Product which no longer merits a mention!
• No announcement of the planned new interface on the Official Google Blog for Blogger
• Until this week when we got a blog post A better Blogger experience on the web 
• after no blog posts since January 2019!

Obviously Fontaine - who wrote the blog post - has had no training in communication because s/he/it LEFT OUT the critical information that Blogger users need to know until the penultimate paragraph (my bold of the critical information which is NOT ON THE DASHBOARD)

• new interface becomes default in late June
• Classic Blogger - now called "legacy") will disappear in July

This proposal frankly shows evidence inexperience, lack of awareness and ineptitude in equal measure.

How can you do away with a legacy system when THE NEW ONE DOES NOT WORK!!?

We’ll be moving everyone to the new interface over the coming months. Starting in late June, many Blogger creators will see the new interface become their default, though they can revert to the old interface by clicking “Revert to legacy Blogger” in the left-hand navigation. By late July, creators will no longer be able to revert to the legacy Blogger interface.

• Plus in May we got a new banner on the dashboard - 
• a month before the new interface becomes the default. 
• That's the new interface WHICH DOES NOT WORK.  
• It forgets to mention that the existing interface will disappear in July - despite the fact they do not have a fully functioning interface and it has NOT been tested with users.
• BUT there is no HELP Page which explains how the new system works!!!

• The Google Blogger Help Community - set up for Blogger by Google - is NOT MONITORED BY THE BLOGGER IMPLEMENTATION TEAM!!!!!!!
• so we have huge numbers of people reporting various problems with the new interface
• nobody from Google responding to them
• just one blog post which highlights that they recognise there is a problem with images - but that's the only problem they recognise.

I know a number of my Readers use Blogger for their own blogs - in which case:

• you will be interested to learn about why the new interface is dysfunctional
• you may well become as worried as I am about the almighty cock-up already manufactured by Google

Why the new interface is dysfunctional 

Let me count 10 ways it does not work

1. IMPOSSIBLE to upload images from my computer

This is the big one. IT's improved somewhat - but is still not working for everybody.

What was happening is that you click the picture icon and say "I want to upload an image from my computer" and it triggers a large white box with a spinning wheel over a document icon - and momentary notice that it is unable to contacts Google Docs. Given the fact I had no intention of connecting to Google Docs this was very puzzling. It then got extremely boring because the spinning wheel never went away.

The latest is that a picture is uploaded and then does not appear.

So, currently, uploading images very much continues to be a problem for some - particularly those using Safari for a browser.

Will Chrome 68 label your website as "NOT Secure"?

Starting in July 2018, Google's Chrome Browser (Chrome 68) will start labelling all websites which start with HTTP as "Not Secure". (see 

Below is an illustration by Google of what this means.

• The top line shows what a URL currently looks like in the URL window.
• Below it is what this will change to when Chrome 68 is introduced 

In Chrome 68, the omnibox will display “Not secure” for all HTTP pages.

My expectation is that the "Not secure" will be really obvious - like this "Not secure"

Now a lot of people thought that this would all happen yesterday 1 July 2018 - because Google said it would happen in July.

They missed the bit that said

Beginning in July 2018 with the release of Chrome 68, Chrome will mark all HTTP sites as “not secure”.

(Chrome 68 has not yet been introduced in the UK - but may have happened elsewhere. I'm on Version 67.0.3396.99 )

Below I look at:

• what does being labelled as "not secure" mean?
• what you need to do re. Google's Blogger (I had a hiccup!)
• How do I make my website/blog/ secure?

What does being labelled "not secure" mean?

The reasons for making your website/blog secure are:

• it protects the integrity of your website
• it protects the privacy and security of your visitors and those shopping via your site
• it's where the web is going. Security is ever increasing and there is a cost to not keeping up with developments in this area.

There are also a number of implications of Google's ongoing drive for better security of all websites

• Your website may not rank well in response to Google search queries. Google is already downgrading all websites in search which are currently marked as "Your connection to this site is not secure" which is what comes up if you click the "i" icon prefacing the URL
• Your website or blog traffic may take a dive - as in "off a cliff". It all depends on whether you depend on your email list of Google for visitors to your website or blog.
• If you are selling art via your website you may notice sales drying up. 
• Obviously your website MUST also be super secure if you are taking any payment transactions via your website - even if you are routing them via a secure process. 
• You can't have an insecure website with PayPal or whatever and expect to get away with it!

So what about Google's Blogger?

This is where it gets interesting - then tortuous - then interesting again. Bear with me!

Rembrandt - a case study in light and dark

Google Art and Culture is currently displaying a very interesting case study in the portrayal of light and dark in a painting by Rembrandt.

A Case Study of Light and Dark is a slideshow which highlights - in detail and close up - how Rembrandt conveys both light and dark

• in different places within a portrait 
• relative to the light source and 
• relative to the form and local colour of the subject.

Do take a look - I know some with find it VERY educational. For others it's an excellent refresher of what we already know but maybe sometimes forget!

The painting is a Bust of an old man with turban (1627 - 1628) by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn from The Kremer Collection

______________________________________________________

PS You may have noticed I'm posting shorter posts borrowing from other sites. That's because it's Christmas and I have other "things to do"! :)  Future posts will be similar and/or will display paintings of the season or Christmas.

How do you get your art ranking in Google? Your NEW Google Guide to SEO

How do you get your art ranking in Google?  That's what most artists want to know when they go online.

These days most professional and many semi-professional artists operate online using a website and/or a blog.

However this is only effective if people can find that website or blog when searching for you or the sort of art your produce.

Many - but certainly not all - artists also know that to enable people to find their website they also need to has at least a passing acquaintance with SEO i.e. search engine optimisation. This is the legitimate process of making your site rank better in search engines.

Yesterday Google launched a launch of a NEW updated SEO Starter Guide (I suggest you bookmark this link - it's important) 

This is the first major update since 2010.

Below I provide an overview of the content and what's different. The main difference is that due to the overlap between the previous Guide (a pdf file) and the Webmaster Academy advice which was online - the two guides to what to do re SEO have been MERGED!

The NEW Starter Guide MERGES
the SEO Old Starter Guide PDF (c.2010)
 and advice from the Webmaster Academy

I'd recommend everybody take a look at the new guide and check out whether they are following all the recommended practices.

The contents are listed below - click any link to find out more about what Google recommends if you want to do well on Google

This guide won't provide any secrets that'll automatically rank your site first in Google (sorry!), but following the best practices outlined below will hopefully make it easier for search engines to crawl, index and understand your content.

• Getting started
• Help Google find your content
• Tell Google which pages shouldn't be crawled
• Help Google (and users) understand your content
• Manage your appearance in Google Search results
• Organize your site hierarchy
• Optimize your content
• Optimize your images
• Make your site mobile-friendly
• Promote your website
• Analyze your search performance and user behavior
• Appendix: Link URLs used in this paper

What's different?

I always like those pages which explain what's different in this issue compared to previous versions. Unfortunately Google hasn't issued one! So I went looking to see whether anybody else had detected any differences between previous recommendations and this new presentation.

The differences I'm seeing highlighted relate to:

• The new guide MERGES the Webmaster Academy and the old SEO Starter Guide PDF (2010) into one resource section online.
• It can be found under "Search Console Help" - this is the service Google offers to help you monitor and maintain your site's presence in Google Search results.
• It has much fewer pics - and these tend to be monochrome - and some beginners may find it less friendly than the old 2010 document.
• The imperative for the update seems to have been MOBILE!
• the progress in technology and 
• how things work on mobile devices - which is now very different from how it was in 2010 
• sites used to have seperate mobile pages rather than using the responsive templates which most modern sites now use.
• The author of the official announcement chose to emphasise the following

The updated version builds on top of the previously available document, and has additional sections on the need for search engine optimization, adding structured data markup and building mobile-friendly websites.

• Hence new sections for:
• the need for search engine optimisation
• how to add structured data mark-up - (which I shall be reading as I still haven't figured that one out!)
• building mobile-friendly websites - see Make your site mobile-friendly which emphasise the best practices for creating mobile-friendly websites that can be accessed by all devices. 

I've just checked the latter in relation to my existing advice in How to be mobile-friendly in the Websites for Artists section of my website Art Business Info for Artists - and I'll now be rechecking a load of links to make sure they're accurate and properly descriptive of the new places they're now being redirected to!

Below are some articles which seem to address the issues re. what's changed

• A revamped SEO Starter Guide | Google Webmaster Central Blog - this is the OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT.
• Google Revamps its SEO Starter Guide: Here’s What’s New | Search Engine Journal - a decent review of what's different

The two below essentially say "It's happened" and revise what the Google blog post says! I'm actually really surprised there hasn't been more analysis online by now.

• Google revamps its SEO Starter Guide | Search Engine Land - This is the first update of the SEO starter guide in several years.
• Google Revises SEO Starter Guide | Search Marketing Daily

If you have queries please don't ask me! Rather try using the Google Webmaster Forum where you can connected with other webmasters and top contributors in the Google Webmaster Tools forum.

Here also is the new Google Page for Get support for your site.

Google Search Console

Here are the current contents of this Google service

• What is Search Console?
• Are you on Google?
• Using Search Console with your website
• Using Search Console with your mobile app
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Starter Guide
• Learn more about Search at Google
• Block content from Google Search results
• Search Console for Apps
• Add a website property
• What's new in Search?
• Webmaster Troubleshooter

10 million page views!

Making A Mark achieved 10 million page views at 2.15pm this afternoon! I've been looking forward to this for a while.....

I was slightly slow in catching up with the event so this is what it looked like when I took a screendump at 2.20pm.

The page view count (courtesy of Blogger in the side column of Making A Mark
followed by the Visitor Count generated by Statcounter

Blogger has only been counting page views since 2008 whereas this blog is coming up to 11 years old having been started at the end of 2005 and went public in January 2006

That means that there's actually around 2 years worth of page views somewhere!

What's the difference between page views counted by Blogger and Google Analytics?

I found out the difference between page views as counted by Blogger and page views as counted by Google Analytics yesterday.

• Apparently Google literally counts page views - and as we know a view of a blog on one page may have several blog posts. 
• Whereas Blogger counts the views for every blog post - as if every post was its own page - which of course it is since it has a unique URL.  

That's why I'm minded to say that the Blogger count to my mind is more accurate as it's counting visits to blog posts - by URL. Only those who come to the domain name page get treated as one visit even if they read every post on that home page!!!

Blogger also counts your own page views unless you turn them off as I do.

Statcounter seems to come between the two - but has a different length of time for how long the cookie stays before a visit from the same person counts as a repeat visit.

The geographical dimension

Of course things have also got complicated due to the fact that Blogger now uses geographical endings for all Blogger blogs on the basis that this allows them to cater for different requirements of the laws in every country. I've never quite got that one worked out - however I am totally convinced that Google Analytics does not count all page views properly when a blog is read globally.

The importance of your archive

The other interesting thing about page views is that if you have a lot of blog posts as I do (this is the 3,183rd!) about niche topics then you continue to generate traffic for that post long after you wrote it - via search traffic. (If you get your titles and meta description right!)

That's one of the reasons why the traffic to my blog is remaining pretty steady despite the fact I'm not writing as many posts.

The stats from the stats page for Making A Mark on Blogger!

In fact, you could day that the 10,000,000 page views are down to one of the things I learned very early on - which was the importance of making your archive accessible 

I commented to Alyson Stanfield earlier this year that...

I thank the day I read the article by Jakob Neilsen in which he pointed out that your assets (and your traffic) are in your Archives and you just need to find new ways of unlocking them for others!

[I think it was this particular Alertbox - in which he highlighted the statistical verification of making Archives accessible]

Of course - I guess you also have to have content that people think is worth reading! ;)

Reasons NOT to link to a website

An approach from a major art website has prompted today's post about reasons NOT to link to a website.

First the letter. Next and my response.
Finally some of the reasons why it's not a good idea to link to a website
....and finally - what Google thinks about schemes to swop/trade links and why they are a bad idea.

The 'request to link' email and my response

I've removed the name of the gallery website and the link to it - because I won't be linking to it! Everywhere you can see "a gallery" below was originally the name - and a link to the gallery

Dear Webmaster,

I’m the webmaster of "a gallery" [description of project]. We receive millions of visitors monthly. Our database of Fine Art images and articles is in the millions and we continue to grow daily. We are a nonprofit organization. This is your opportunity to take part in our project.

I visited your website earlier today and wanted to congratulate you on a creating a well presented and informative site. I would like to add a link to your website from ["a gallery"] and wanted to know if you would be kind enough to link back to us.

Adding a link from ["a gallery"] to your website will greatly increase your Search Engine Ranking in Google, Yahoo, Bing and other websites. A link from our site to your site will mean that your site will ranked HIGHER on these search engine results pages which will translate to more visitors and better exposure.

If you are interested let us know, and I will get back to you with the exact link information that we would like you to use. Please also let me know what description you would like us to use when we link back to you.

Looking forward to hear from you,
Victoria
Webmaster ["a gallery"]

This is a standard letter. It wasn't tailored to me. An identical letter will have been sent to all the artists they have approached - and some will have been flattered by it.

I reviewed their site to find  the section where they include the links from artists' websites. In a section called "Recommended Art" there was

• a completely undifferentiated list of links to artists' websites and blogs
• The list ran to some 39 pages and on each page there were 50 links
• That makes for a list totalling nearly 2,000 websites
• It wasn't alphabetical
• It wasn't differentiated in any way in terms of type of art produced, media used or subjects favoured
• It was just a long list of people who were flattered by the email.

I searched for the name of one or two well known contemporary artists - and their websites did not feature in the list. On the other hand I did see the websites of people I know of who I thought had more sense.

That's when I decided to respond - and to write this post.

Below is my response to the gallery.

Dear "a gallery"

I don't believe the way you reference other sites actually aids their search engine ranking in any way. An undifferentiated list of the sort you use is in fact one of the things which Google highlights as a strategy for linking which it condemns.

Perhaps you have a recent reference to your link strategy which suggests Google endorses it?

Regards

Katherine Tyrrell

Somewhat predictably I didn't get a response.

Reasons NOT to link to a website

All about links

A link is a way of connecting one piece of text in an online file to another online file. The hyperlink allows you to see it or follow it.

Here's what Tim Berners-Lee - the inventor of the Internet - had to say about the myths surrounding Links in a note he write back in 1997.

On the web, to make reference without making a link is possible but ineffective - like speaking but with a paper bag over your head.

In summary:

• a link is neutral in principle - in principle it does NOT imply:
• a recommendation 
• or a suggestion that another person created the content within the link
• you can link to anything online which is public - if it's online and you can read it then you can link to it and the owner can't stop you
• It's not an infringement of someone's privacy to make a link to their website. If they want to be private it's best not to have a website.

We know from the way the Internet - and Google in particular - works that some links carry more weight than others. However that depends on the reputation of the website generating a link and the value of the content it covers.

For example if a leading national newspaper linked to you and cited you as a leading example of a particular trend in painting you might expect to get a lot of visitors (see this article in the New York Times on 23rd February 2006 about Postcard from Provence by Julian Merrow Smith and his wife Ruth's blog post "Sold Out" the same day).

However this sort of link doesn't happen that often - but it doesn't stop artists thinking it might happen to them too!

The real reasons why people link to a website

In general, people link when:

• they know they can link without permission (ie the email above is all about getting me to link to them - not them linking to me!)
• they find the content to be of value - either temporarily (for a project) or as a website they like to keep visiting over time (e.g. in a blogroll)
• they're pretty sure they want to find the site again in the future
• they'd like to see more from that site - because they're so impressed by what they've seen so far.
• to boost their website - BECAUSE they think you'll link back and that will help how their site ranks (but they might be wrong on both counts)

Links that don't work

People aren't interested in creating links for sites that:

• might be stuck in a pile of what looks like your "for filing" tray from a year ago i.e. there's no way to find your link without looking through a long list of other sites which are not grouped or categorised in any way
• are of little relevance right now
• practice deception when trying to generate more links
• don't generate any traffic.

If you've ever linked your website to one of these websites that promises you lots of benefits, you might want to check your statistics to see if you ever get any traffic from it. My guess is there will be none.

Links that are really bad news

Anything that resembles link trading and/or a Google Link Scam is really bad news for your website.

I've seen a number of websites build their profile by asking and/or offering "perks" to get other artists to link to them. It's a very easy and quick way of gaining rank - but the only website that benefits is the one that hosts the links - UNTIL Google sniffs out the link exchange.

Google does NOT like link trading. If you indulge in link trading it does your site more harm than good.

In Link Schemes, Google states its views about the use of links to improve the way your website ranks in Google

Any links intended to manipulate PageRank or a site's ranking in Google search results may be considered part of a link scheme and a violation of Google’s Webmaster Guidelines. This includes any behavior that manipulates links to your site or outgoing links from your site.
The following are examples of link schemes which can negatively impact a site's ranking in search results:

• Buying or selling links that pass PageRank. This includes exchanging money for links, or posts that contain links; exchanging goods or services for links; or sending someone a “free” product in exchange for them writing about it and including a link

• Excessive link exchanges ("Link to me and I'll link to you") or partner pages exclusively for the sake of cross-linking

• Large-scale article marketing or guest posting campaigns with keyword-rich anchor text links

• Using automated programs or services to create links to your site

This is what Google would prefer you to do

The best way to get other sites to create high-quality, relevant links to yours is to create unique, relevant content that can naturally gain popularity in the Internet community. Creating good content pays off: Links are usually editorial votes given by choice, and the more useful content you have, the greater the chances someone else will find that content valuable to their readers and link to it.

Conclusion

• Create good content so people will link to you
• Link to sites you like and want to visit again
• Link to sites you'd like to share with other people
• Don't link to a site because somebody says you'll get a benefit - it's almost always a con.
• Don't link to a site which practices deception.

Problem uploading images to Blogger via Chrome

I'm having a MAJOR problem uploading images to Blogger when using the Chrome browser

When I click the picture icon while writing a post - to upload an image - instead of getting the normal 'upload an image' screen, I get this huge pop-up with a completely nonsensical message

The message says "in order to select an item from your online storage, please sign in"

The problems with uploading images to Blogger via Chrome are:

1. I don't want to select an image from my online Google storage - I've no idea what the popup is talking about. I don't store my images on Google - except as a byproduct of writing a blog post (i.e. after a post is published)
2. Why would I need to sign into Google when I'm already signed in to write my blog?
3. I'm offered no other options - despite the fact that 99% of the time I upload images from my computer. 
4. I'm having to use another browser to write this post as I can't use Chrome and upload an image
5. That browser offers me the option of uploading an image from:
• from this blog
• from Picasa web albums
• from your phone 
• from your webcam
• from a URL
• I ignore them all and select files from my computer's hard drive and upload those!

If anybody else has had similar problems I'd be interested to know if you've come up with a solution. 

In the meantime I'm going to be using Google Chrome Version 47.0.2526.73 (64-bit) an awful lot less

Until they fix the problem!

Search Quality Guidelines: Find out how Google rates websites

Ever wondered how Google rates websites to determine how they rank in their search engine?

The aim of this post is to:

• tell you the latest news from Google - it will impact on whether and how often people find your website or blog
• relate what Google says about how to rate websites to things that artists do on or with their websites. Every so often you will see a TIP.

What's New?

Google did something extremely unusual this month.

For the very first time, Google published the entire document of Guidelines given to people who evaluate websites for the purposes of influencing the factors used in the Google Search Engine algorithm (the thing which determines which websites rank well or badly).

This is because:

• they've just done an update and 
• they want more and more people to understand how sites are rated for search queries via mobile devices.

What it also means is that Google are helping us to understand better about what matters, how you can help you website - and how you can mess up!

The reason I take what Google says seriously is demonstrated by the chart below. Nearly 95% of the search queries whioch generate traffic for this blog come via Google.

I haven't read every aspect of the Guidelines as yet - and consequently may come back and update this post.

How search quality evaluation works

Google hires people to evaluate websites according to a very structured and very detailed regime. This assessment regime is detailed in the Guidelines Manual which has now been released in full and fully up to date.

The results of the assessments help Google to determine the weighting of the various factors which are incorporated into the algorithm which actually determines the rankings of websites within the Google Search Engine - in relation to specific queries.

Thus for example it might determine how important how recent new content or relevance to a local context might be.

Documentation

Updating Our Search Quality Rating Guidelines was the blog post on the Official Google Webmaster Central Blog "Official news on crawling and indexing sites for the Google index"

Some people missed it but buried in the text was a link to a 160 page PDF document titled 'General Guidelines' and dated 12th November 2015.

You can download this SEO Gold Mine for free !

People have described this document as being leaked but I'm not sure how a link in an official blog gets evaluated as being a leak.  I think maybe they just like to call it a "leak" as it makes for a good story!

If you read the blog post, Google makes it quite clear

In 2013, we published our human rating guidelines to provide transparency on how Google works and to help webmasters understand what Google looks for in web pages. Since that time, a lot has changed: notably, more people have smartphones than ever before and more searches are done on mobile devices today than on computers.

We often make changes to the guidelines as our understanding of what users wants evolves, but we haven’t shared an update publicly since then. However, we recently completed a major revision of our rater guidelines to adapt to this mobile world, recognizing that people use search differently when they carry internet-connected devices with them all the time.

Thus the key change is the impact of mobile devices - and this is recognised in terms of:

• the inclusion of  Part 2 - Understanding Mobile Needs 
• plus lots of examples in the Guidelines uses the mobile view to demonstrate what they mean

So what do the Guidelines say

Quality

The Guidelines define in some considerable detail what they mean by different levels of quality. 

Below are reasons for assessing a page as being of Low Quality. (MC means "main content"; SC means "supplementary content")

If a page has one of the following characteristics, the Low rating is usually appropriate:

• The quality of the MC is low. 

• There is an unsatisfying amount of MC for the purpose of the page. 

• The author of the page or website does not have enough expertise for the topic of the page and/or the website is not trustworthy or authoritative for the topic. In other words, the page/website is lacking E-A-T. 

• The website has a negative reputation. 

• The SC is distracting or unhelpful for the purpose of the page.

Below is the definition of what makes a High Quality Page.

Extract from page 20

It needs at least one characteristic out of:

• a satisfying amount of high quality "main content" (ie MC = what your website is about)
• The page and author are expert. authoritative and trustworthy for the topic of the page
• the website has a good repuattion for the topic of the page.

PLUS Google also wants to see:

• who you are and how you can be contacted
• Supplementary Content (SC) which makes for a satisfying a user experience on the page and website
• a website which is designed in such a way that the user knows what is main content and which is supplementary - and it allows people to navigate between the two
• "a website which is well cared for and maintained" (i.e. updated from time to time and not ignored e.g. old and out of date content is removed)

In terms of the best content....

We will consider the MC of the page to be very high or highest quality when it is created with a high degree of time and effort, and in particular, expertise, talent, and skill. Very high quality MC may be created by experts, hobbyists, or even people with everyday expertise. Our standards depend on the purpose of the page and the type of content. The Highest rating may be justified for pages with a satisfying or comprehensive amount of very high quality MC.

TIP: In terms of artists, first-person experience is considered to be one way of defining expertise. Hence artists who write extremely detailed and helpful reviews of products or places are likely to give their websites or blogs a boost!

When it comes to rating a website or blog this is what the Guidelines say (Page )

The top three most important PQ considerations are:

• Quality and quantity of Main Content. Examine the MC carefully. Given the purpose of the page, evaluate the quality and quantity of MC. 

• Level of expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (E-A-T) of the page and the website. The level of E-A-T is extremely important for YMYL pages. 

• Reputation of the website. The reputation of a website is very important when the website demands a high level of trust.

New Topics in this Version

The guidelines have a NEW emphasis on 'mobile'.  Thus we have Part 2: Understanding Mobile User Needs

There is also something called "Needs met". This aims to distinguish between pages which deliver a very fast and appropriate response on recent events - which must be fresh - and older authoritative websites which might only update occasionally (ie authoritative information doesn't tend to change every five minutes)

New approaches

The quality raters will be testing via mobile devices as well as from a desktop.

TIP: The emphasis on mobile means the opening sentences of pages and blog posts are now extremely important. They should signal the content of the page. You'll notice how I very often in the first paragraph say:

• what the blog post is about
• what the blog post contains

I do the same thing on the websites I'm building. The aim is to waste people's time as little as possible. My sites may not be the ones they're looking for - but I do want people to leave with a favoruable impression.

and another thing

TIP: It's absolutely essential that your website or blog can be read easily via a mobile device. If you've not yet implemented a responsive template which adjusts what content looks like for the size of the screen - now is the time to do so!

Important concepts

EAT is an important concept. (This was a new introduction last year - and it's still important.)

It stands for 'expertise, authority and trustworthiness' i.e. all the reasons why you would choose to read one website rather than another.

TIP: From an artist's perspective it's about what might they be writing about or hoping to promote which demands that they are experts and trustworthy.

EXAMPLE: One example might be people offering art tuition.  People evaluating websites for classes or workshops where money changes hands might well be looking for indicators of: indicators of expertise (eg training; qualifications etc) length of time they have been doing this (eg no. of years of experience as a tutor) number of people who reference (link to them) them as the "go to" art tutor indicators of trustworthiness re money (e.g. detailed contact details; use of appropriate mechanisms which are safe for customers; security certificate for the site)

and finally

I was very pleased to see this on page 66!

Art pages do have a purpose: artistic expression. Pages created for artistic expression do not deserve the Low quality rating simply because they have no other purpose. Artistic expression, humor, entertainment, etc. are all valid page purposes.

I'm interested to know what you make of the Guidelines. (Do bear in mind they are a Technical Manual for people employed to do a job). Do please leave a comment.

Brand new website raises design standard for art societies

Has your art society updated its website to cope with mobile devices and changes in the way Google ranks websites?

Is it thinking about the need to make a change?

If your art society has not changed the basic template and design for some time then it's almost certainly now out of date.

This post is about a brand new website - by the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour (who have a brand new URL as well http://royalinstituteofpaintersinwatercolours.org ). In my opinion it raises the benchmark for the design of websites for art societies.

The new website as viewed on my 27" iMac screen

The need for a change

I spend a lot of time looking at the websites of artists and art societies. I'm afraid to say that a lot of art society websites could do with major improvements. (I wrote about the content aspects back in 2009 - see 10 questions for Art Society websites)

Technological Change - the rise and rise of the mobile device

The most important recent changes have been all technologically oriented. Hence we have:

• a huge increase in browsing via mobile devices and hence the need to ensure all websites can be seen and read easily using a tablet or smartphone as well as a desktop computer.
• the introduction and adoption of responsive templates which mean that templates can now automatically convert to suit the size of screen they are being viewed through
• the change in the Google algorithm for ranking websites viewed via mobile devices. Those which will do well in future include ONLY those which are wholly compliant with Google's standards for mobile devices - see my recent posts:
• Are your sites mobile friendly - or are you facing Mobilegeddon? 
• Artists websites: still a lot to do to update / upgrade for mobile devices

The new RI website:

• addresses the critical need to respond flexibly and appropriately to it being viewed on different sized screens.
• shows what can be done if you upgrade for new technology and the need to become compliant with mobile devices.

The Home Page on my iPhone 6+

This is the website's Workshops page on my Mini iPad.

The website is also well integrated with social media. It has:

• the news page includes blog posts, a Twitter feed and a Facebook Feed bringing current news about the activities of the society and its members
• widgets at the bottom of each blog post allows each post to be individually shared easily to Facebook, Twitter and Google+ 
• there are icons at the top of every page which allow people to link to the RI's Twitter account and Facebook Page. 

The members get a prominent page and a lot of territory on the website.  The list is nicely spaced and I much prefer the design chosen of putting current members at the top and retired and honorary members at the bottom. 

The members' profile pages look excellent and I like the links to social media as well as the artist's website. Each of the members is providing material so, in time, each will have an individual page with an excellent image, a short bio and links to their social media activities and their website.  

Here's three examples for you to look at:

• This is Lilias August who doesn't have a website or any social media activity. However this website now provides an example of her work (which expands), a photograph of her at work, a biographical statement and an artist statement. At last we get to find out more about her work and her background
• This is Shirley Trevena - well known to many around the world - it provides some background and a statement about her working processes plus an excellent image which opens up in a lightbox to be enjoyed to the full.
• This page is about David Poxon and shows how social media and email contact can be included. He chooses to provide a short bio and a list of recent awards as well as a thumbnail photo and a quotation about what's important to him

In terms of telling you what the society is about, there's a very clear and short statement on the home page which tells you what this society is about

The home of British Watercolour painting since 1831

Given its great age it's entirely appropriate for the RI website to have a major section devoted to Our Heritage.   I love the really ace images of their building on Piccadilly and other places the RI has been associated with. Plus always nice to see a list of Presidents

In addition, it's worth saying that the images on the website are universally excellent. There's obviously been some thought given to how to present the RI in a professional way.

The website includes a page which I don't often come across and that's a Donations Page. This highlights the charitable status of the RI and the opportunity to give money to the RI via donations, legacies and prizes and awards. It's also a page which provides the enduring recognition of those who sponsored prizes and awards at the annual exhibition. I thought this was a neat touch.

Finally, I'm finding the website loads very speedily on my iMac. Speed is so important - and hence quality and size of images will always need to be optimised for best performance on all devices.

More websites for Watercolour Societies

You can find a comprehensive listing for watercolour painters of the websites of watercolour societies around the world - and their blogs and Facebook Pages - in my website called Watercolour Societies - Resources for Artists

Blogging for art societies

You can also read about blogging for art societies in the following posts:

• Art Society Blogs #1 - Why blog?
• Art Society Blog #2 - Getting started
• Art Society Blog #3 - Recruit a Blog Editor