SURF MERCHANT

What’s in our tool-belt?

• Structure

  Rock-solid infrastructure and high-performance technology lay the foundation for a website, but without strict building regulation, it can fall over like a house of cards. We keep your house in order. Learn more

• Security

  Protective measures for disaster prevention. Our security screening safeguards the validity of visitors to your website. We make sure all the documents are in order, both sides of the border! Learn more

• Speed

  Speed is a top priority. Slow loading time cripples user-experience and to feature on Google’s radar, websites need to be always-on and ultra responsive. We perform the technical checks and changes that deliver what people (and search bots) want, when they want it. Learn more

• Freshness

  In addition to maintenance, we can take on responsibility for continual performance improvement of the website and supporting digital channels. According to agreed deliverables, we ensure the site is fresh and ever evolving with regular changes and routine content publication. Learn more

Structure

• Sitemap indexation

  Website accessibility is fundamental for SEO. The first check of any SEO audit is that web URLs are crawled by Google and indexed in the search result listings. We’ve a few clever ways of optimising your sitemap for search engine indexation and ranking positions (SERPs).

• robots.txt rules

  The rules on the road-sign for Google, the robots file is where webmasters instruct search engines what internal links to follow, and what to discard. Very important.

• .htaccess commands

  This is the skeleton key to your website. The commands in the .htaccess file make or break your site. How we set up this file for you is crucial in defining functional execution of the website, as well as site structure and output.

• File server configuration

  Root and branch. When we think of file server folder structure, we draw a tree structure of parent and child folders. How we name and map the associations of these folders together with their individual contents is paramount for optimal website performance and SEO.

• Clean URL permalink

  The trick here is balance. It’s not about keyword stuffing the link. A permalink should be unique, non-duplicate, canonicalised and clearly structured in accordance with sub-level server folders.

• Internal link mapping

  Content is more relevant when it is relative so it is vital to associate related content using internal linking. Imagine a simple relational venn diagram where pages are inter-linked based on over-lapping topics. We mind-map your website so that Google has a easier job way-finding and assigning priority content.

• External link referral

  Citation is the principle on which Google’s PageRank is built and it is still just as pertinent today. With Google’s knowledge vault algorithm geared toward factual accuracy over popularity, linking to credible external sources is paramount. We identify and associate your website with industry peers.

• Code standardisation

  Best practice programming language is ever evolving but the basics still matter. Our standardisation process aligns your website with W3C standards while allowing for new coding norms. Clean code makes Google happy.

• Meta data optimisation

  Meta titles and meta descriptions are the first lines in SEO 101. Notwithstanding their elementary nature, the opportunity to concisely define the nature of every page on a website is often overlooked. Google gobbles up meta tags and we optimise tags everywhere.

• Rich snippet additions

  Rich snippets are additional microdata meta tags that webmaster can (but often don’t) include within the header section of each web-page following schema alliance commands. In the right hands, rich snippets are a powerful way to communicate directly with Google and reap rich rewards.

• File categorisation

  Every file has meta data fields that should be populated with precise information about the contents of the file. If an image, define the subject of the photo. If a pdf file, summarise the docuement and assign it to the correct folder tag within the CMS. Logic wins in search engine optimisation and user experience.

• Broken links/images

  Page not found! Image missing! Nothing is more frustrating or off-putting than a web-page with images frames that don’t load or links that don’t work. Furthermore, these errors are red flags to search engines. Our clean-sweep tests all images and links for full functionality.

• Duplication removal

  Another no-brainer. Two or more pages with the same text, imagery etc constitute a copy. Copies are never as valuable the the original, and Google hates sifting through websites trying to assertain which is which, so we endeavour to make Google’s job as easy as possible.

• Browser functionality

  Obvious but often overlooked, a website needs to render properly on a variety of browser types (chrome, firefox, internet explorer, safari) and let’s not forget browser versions too! We take care of this so you don’t have to.

• Mobile compatibility

  Your website will soon receive more traffic from mobile devices than it will desktop PC visitors. It’s inexcusable if a website is not mobile responsive. As of April 2015, Google’s algorithm has made this a priority ranking signal. No compromise, no excuses, we won’t hear of them.

• Page errors detection

  From 302 to 404 to error 500, page server response errors are ugly. There’s nothing more remarkable than the symmetry of status 200.

• Content ratio improvement

  The art of wire-framing is not dead. Back in the good old days, we drew up page templates pinning content blocks of text, imagery, headers, buttons and links. Our audit exercise identifies where content should be extended as well as where to pare back for more white space.

Security

• SSL authentication

  Our SSL validation checks maintain business security and safe customer browsing on your website. Secure Sockets Layer is the standard security technology for establishing link encryption to ensure all data passed between web server and browser remains private and integral.

• HTTPS everywhere

  A web-page has a link starting with http://www or https://www. With https://www, you will see a green padlock in the address bar. This tells you that you are in a safe contained environment while you engage with the website. Google really approves of websites that use HTTPS protection.

• Secure file permissions

  Every image, document and file on your website has permission settings, and if these aren’t set according to best practice or have appropriate usage rights, many problems with the site functionality can arise, as can the chance of external infringement and file manipulation, leading to hacking.

• Privacy law compliance

  If a website in Europe uses any form of analytics, or stores information about visitors to your site using cookies, an alert must be displayed acknowledging the forms of data collected and gaining permission from the user. Compliance is part of our routine site service.

• Password fortification

  Weak passwords, or the use of the same password across a number of web services, is the most common cause of hijacks and cybercrime. We analyze password patterns and reset vulnerable user settings to lock down your account administration.

• Malware scanning

  Just like a computer machine needs antivirus, your website needs regular malware scanning to maintain a sterile system. We identify external threats and remove foreign bodies so that there’s no bugs and everything is nice and clean.

• Brute force protection

  Hackers use spam-bots to automatically trawl the internet looking for access points to websites and auto-generate random common use username/password combinations until they crack the log-in. We put in place extra validation checks and barriers to entry that keep the bots at bay.

• IP listing (white/black)

  Every internet connected device has an IP address. Some clever detective work and we can flag the bad guys as soon as they come anywhere near your website and keep them away.

• DDoS protection

  Dedicated deniel of service attacks on websites are all the rage at the moment. If some malevolent force wants to bring your website down, it bombards your website host server with traffic and soon enough the system overloads. We stop that from happening.

• SPAM filters

  The oldest trick in the book is still the most common issue on website and email networks; SPAM. Spammers find a back door in to your website and paste links back to their website. They do this so that Google will think they are a big deal. Inadvertently, this depreciates your website in Google’s eyes. We don’t want that.

• Firewall security

  As the name suggests, a firewall creates a baracade around your website which deters attackers from breaching your structural integrity. This is particularly useful in neutralising the threat of cross-site scripting (xss) and SQL injection.

• External link audit

  Regular link inventory analysis highlights rogue links outbound to sources that we do not want your website to credit before this becomes a problem. We believe it prevention is better than cure, but if prevention fails, we act quickly to remedy the situation.

• Image hotlink protection

  Nobody likes copy-cats or people who steal our thunder. Hotlinking is when imagery hosted on your website is put in a frame and displayed on another website. This website gets accredited with your graphics while you pay for the hosting and broadband traffic. We can fix that.

• Database back up

  We’ve all been there. Hours into creating a presentation or writing an email, and the system crashing. No saved draft. It’s gone. Same goes for websites. While we mitigate the risk of hosting failures or the website going down, it’s always a good idea to have a fresh copy as a back up. We’ve got you covered.

• Analytics data authentication

  Analytics reports are only as informative as the data they collect. There’s a myriad of ways in which analytics data can be corrupt, from human error, to script settings and more synister sources. We audit your analytics account set-up, settings, custom variables, filters and segments along with website .htaccess rules to generate a clean data-set on which to make well-informed decisions.

Speed

• DNS settings checks

  Name servers records, email MX, A & text records, there’s a lot to get right and lot that can go wrong when configuring your domain registration. It’s crucial to point things in the right direction and that’s what we’re good at, getting your website moving in the right direction.

• Server stress-testing

  Every hosting package is different and not every website is created equally. We match up your web technologies with the appropriate server systems and put in fail-safes to ensure that your website can handle what’s thrown at it.

• Load speed testing

  A slow page loading time is one of the most crippling website experiences. Not only does it create a terrible lasting first impression for your prospective customers, Google comes down really heavy on clunky sites that take an age to render.

• Response waterfall

  We assess every element of each page load to isolate problem black spots that delay a website from fully loading. Half the battle is knowing where to bring the fight. Once we identify the tardy triggers, we can quickly remedy the road blocks.

• Up/down time monitoring

  Site down! Like a red rag to a bull, a red alert on website uptime spurs us in to action. Every minute a website is down is costing that business custom, not to mention valuable trust built up with Google over time. Our job is to maintain Google’s trust, and yours.

• Cache & minify configuration

  Website caching takes a full copy of pages on a website and serves them to visitors instead of making endless repeat requests to the database for a new version every time. Minifying is just that, compressing files on the site. Together, they take the strain off your server and generate content faster.

• HTML varnish

  Think nail varnish. Once the website is manicured, varnish is applied to harden and protect the polished article. Similar to above, varnishing is less heavy-duty on the database, which is a good thing.

• Image size optimisation

  Large, high-resolution image files are enemy number one for page speed. Print-quality versions of images have no place on websites. There’s a time and a place, and time is of the essence in this place. We reduce image size and resolution to compact web-friendly shapes and sizes.

• CDN application

  A content delivery network works in conjunction with your server hosting to store a fresh version of your website remotely in the cloud that can be served to website visitors instead of from your own server, dramatically reducing server resources and improving website performance. We recommend it for advanced customers.

Freshness

• Blog updates

  Date published really matters. We’ve all done it, visit a website, check the news section, see the latest post from a year ago and left to look elsewhere. Google does the same. It rewards recency of content as it does relevancy, so we keep the content churning.

• Just a little detail but that’s what we’re about, the little things that make up the big picture. Celebrate being alive by highlighting the live nature of your website, not a derelict building development.

• Page iterations

  The relentless pursuit of NEW is insatiable but there’s something to be said for “original and best”. We dust down the ancient artifacts on your website and give them the TLC of a respected elder. Small changes and additions to existing content doesn’t go unnoticed in search land.

• New media

  Strike a balance between old and new. Nurture existing material and polish new media. The humble image is a hugely under-rated component of search. There’s a right way and a wrong way to publish and host imagery. We tick the boxes.

• File additions

  How do we earn the respect of our peers, our customers, our competitors? Knowledge is power. An industry white-paper, market research, case study, in-depth product review. These are the weighty documents that win authority. We can help you compile them and announce them to the world.

• Meta data changes

  Page titles and descriptions, they are not for life you know. Just like every moving part of the evolving web system, your titles and descriptions should adapt over time. We keep them fresh, ever-green, and keep Google in their toes. A rolling stone gathers no moss.

• Reinforced inter-linking

  A web-page or blog post can’t be revisited often enough. Google assumes every page is dynamic, a live URL, and loves nothing more than to see its’ roots and branches extend out and inter-weave with one another. That’s what we do for websites, make them grow so that there’s something new for returning visitors every time.

• Link referral expansion

  We don’t do tunnel vision. The internet is ever expanding, so it’s not good enough just to reference established information resources, we need to cite publications new-to-market. That’s what we’re good at, discovering relevant fresh sources and crediting them, so that Google credits us!

• Social integration

  Nothing says active moreso than a lively social media profile. It’s all well and good fostering a communicative social community but the trick is to integrate that conversation as part of the website. We cross-pollinate & embed social channels on your website to highlight your brand popularity online.

• Embedded content

  Not all of the material that your business has ever generated sits proudly on your website shop-window. Sometimes it’s just not the right fit or the technology doesn’t synchronise. We explore ways to match content with location and showcase as much of your public IP as possible.