Archive for the ‘App Review’ Category

Five iPhone Apps That Every SEO Specialist Should Have

Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011

Now that we have smart phones it matters less and less whether you are sitting at your desk or not. Even when we are far away from the office, as long as we have a 3G signal then we can still be productive.

There are certain pieces of information that every SEO specialist needs to be able to access and as Apple always tell us “There’s an App for that”. Here is a list of my five favourite Search Engine Optimisation Apps for the iPhone.

1. Ego App by Garrett Murray

Ego AppEgo is a very useful app that can give you a quick breakdown on the number of visitors to a site. You start by adding widgets that can for any of the following:

  • Ember
  • FeedBurner
  • Google Analytics
  • Mint
  • Squarespace
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • Vimeo

For example you can see how many visits you have had to your site today, yesterday, this week, this month and this year. You can also see if your feed is more popular than it was the previous day. With a Twitter account it will tell you how many followers you have, how many people you are following, how many tweets you have posted, the number of favourite tweets and how many times you have been listed.

The best thing about Ego App is that it is very clear and you can see what is happening across a multitude of sites/accounts.

For me I like to use Ego to see if I can spot anything that is changing quickly on a site. For example if I suddenly notice that traffic to one of my sites has doubled I can then use another app to look in more detail at why this might be.

2. AnalyticsPro by Thomas Blackburn

Analytics Pro AppThis is probably the nearest you will get on your iPhone to actually being logged into Google Analytics. You start by signing in with your Goggle Analytics credentials and you are then shown a listing of all the sites that you manage.

You then have various reports that can be run such as summaries for today, yesterday or the last 28 days. There are visitor reports that can tell you information like the location of your visitors, the language they are using, the browser and operating system, visitor loyalty even the connection speed. There are traffic source reports that tell you how people have arrived at your site and what keywords they were searching for to find you. It can help you monitor your AdWords campaign and show you what has been the most popular content on the site.

Although you cannot generate your own reports as you can within Google Analytics itself there are so many reports to choose from that it will probably enable you to get enough information to manage with until you are back at your desk.

I find that I tend to mainly use the Summary, Location, Traffic Source, Keywords and Top Content reports and from this I can field questions from my clients when I am out of my office.

3. Serps by Hans Schneider

SERPS iPhone AppThe Serps app allows you to check your Google rankings for particular search terms. It is very easy to configure. You simply enter the domain that you want to check and then click on the domain and add the search terms that you want to check. As you add a search term it is automatically ranked as long as it is within the first 100 results.

You can then click on the search term and you are presented with the top 100 results for that particular keyword phrase so that you can not only see where the domain you are interested in ranks but also who is beating it.

There is nothing to stop you from inputting a competitors site either, so you can keep an eye on what they are up to.

 Serps is a free app.

4. SEO Pro nxfx.mobi

SEO Pro AppThis utility gives you a site’s Google PageRank, Alexa ranking, number of inbound yahoo links and how many times the site has been dug on Digg. With the free version you can only add one site whereas with the full version you can add numerous sites. There is another built in function and that is to see the meta data that is stored in the page head. Finally for this app it has a built in browser that will display the page.

5. SEO Stats Keith Greene

SEO Stats AppSEO Stats provides details on the page rank of a site as SEO Pro does but what it also provides is a breakdown of the type of links that are pointing to the site. I am sure that I do not have to tell you how important inbound links are to a site if you want to gain a high ranking on Google.

With this app you cannot save a domain, you have to type it in each time that you want to use it. One of the ways I have found it to be useful in the past has been when you inadvertently start talking to a prospective lead and you have no PC, laptop, iPad or net book to hand. With this app I can still ask the person for their domain name and in a matter of moments I can find out how many inbound links they have got and how big a job it is going to be to get them to that coveted number one spot on Google.

Being on the iOS platform each of these apps are well designed and have a clear and intuitive User Interface. I find that between them they have helped to make my Search Engine Optimisation efforts just that little bit slicker and help me to be more productive even when I am out of my office.

Do you have any SEO apps that you would recommend? Leave a comment and let me know which your favourite SEO app is.

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App Review: Vlingo (iPhone & Android)

Tuesday, February 15th, 2011
Vlingo on the iPhone

Vlingo on the iPhone

Vlingo is a nifty little app that allows you to search the web, update social networks, write texts and emails using your voice as the input method. The way it works is that the first word you utter tells the app what you want to do. For example, if you say “Search Freelance Web Design Blackburn” then the app will search for freelance web designers in Blackburn. You can also choose which search engine the app will use, Google, Bing or Yahoo.

I have been playing with this app for about five days and have found it to be really useful. I am getting to that point in life where my fingers have started to press two keys instead of one on my smartphone keyboard and so the ability to not have to type is fantastic.
I do find that you have to speak slowly and clearly but even so the voice recognition software has virtually no trouble understanding my Lancashire accent. My main use has been to use Vlingo to update Facebook and Twitter. I have learnt that the longer you speak for the more likely Vlingo is to make mistakes in its voice recognition. However, if you keep things short and sweet (can you do anything else with Twitter?) then it is very accurate. Vlingo displays it’s interpretation of your commands in a text box allowing you the opportunity to amend the text if it has made a mistake before you post your update to the world.
The app is freemium. The free version allows you to search the web, update Facebook and Twitter. The paid version also allows you to send texts and emails. The cost is £3.99 for either text or email or £5.99 for both.
There is a syntax that you need to get the hang of to really get the most out of this app but it is worth the effort. Vlingo is a great app and one that I would thoroughly recommend.
Vlingo is available from both the Apple App Store and the Android Marketplace.
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App Review: Cover Orange (iPhone & iPad)

Wednesday, February 9th, 2011
Cover Orange for iPhone and iPad

Best Game of 2011... So Far!

Every now and again there comes along a game that really gets its hooks into the general population. In the run up to Christmas that game was Angry Birds. In the early part of 2011 then surely that game would be Cover Orange.

Cover Orange is made by FDG and follows a simple premise you have one or more oranges that you have to prevent getting rained on by a toxic cloud. It is a combination of platform and puzzle game. You must ensure that all your oranges are under some form of shelter. To help you with this you are given a set number of items such as a crate, wheel and oil drum. These items appear one at a time and you have to drop them onto the playing area below. Positioning is all important. Crates and oil drums are useful for forming the walls and roof of a shelter while a wheel can be used to set an orange rolling in order to get it into position.
Words do this game no justice at all. Everything about this game is good. The oranges look very cute (I never thought that would be something I would ever type). The music is infectious and will run round in your head for days. The levels balance out well between easy ones to help you learn new techniques and some fairly fiendish ones that take a bit of brain power to figure out exactly what order and where you need to dsrop your items to make sure your oranges are safe. The oranges are always very grateful when you do save them and when you don’t? They sould like a guy with Manflu.
The free version has 120 levels and the paid verion doubles this. Believe me when you’ve played the free version you will be frothing at the mouth to get your hands on the new levels. There is currently a  free bonus version out with a Valentines day theme that gives you 10 more levels to try.  The graphics are smooth and the physics engine is very good. You do need to keep your eyes peeled sometimes as you may find something like a small ramp that will give a wheel a bit of extra momentum when dropped on it to move your orange a little quicker. On various levels there are bombs. Bombs can be very beneficial, the explosion launching an orange over an obstacle, but if your orange is too close then it will get blown up.
This is definately my favourite game of the year so far, give it a go and let me know what you think.
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App of the Week: Twadar for Android

Friday, August 20th, 2010
Twadar in Action

Twadar in action

This weeks App of the week is Twadar by EastsideBasement. Twadar is a great little app that shows you who is tweeting in your neighbourhood. Lots of Twitter apps offer the facility to see tweets from those nearby but the reason I like it so much is that it displays the information on a map. The Twadar icon is at the centre of the page and then it starts to scan when you ask it to. It has a great GUI and you can see the radar spinning round as it scans your area. Then it starts to populate your area with all the people that have recently tweeted, their profile pic, profile name and latest Tweet. Once again I am finding that Geotagging is proving to be useful. I cannot believe how sceptical I was about this whole concept at the beginning of the year, but as time has gone on developers are finding new and innovative ways to make use of this technology. It’s only a question of time before two people who are trying to meet up both send a Tweet out and then one uses Twadar to find the location of the other.

You can also set a specific location other than your own by town, postcode and you can even just choose a location on the map to drop Twadar on.

I have to be honest, it’s a bit dull out here where I am as I seem to be the only person nearby who Tweets, but when I am in a city centre then you get to see exactly who’s about.

It’s a fun little app, comes in a free version as well as the paid for version and is only €1.49. It may not change your life but it is fun to watch. Twadar is available in the Android Marketplace.

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App of the Week: Anaytics Pro by Thomas Blackburn

Saturday, August 14th, 2010
Analytics Pro by Thomas Blackburn

Analytics Pro by Thomas Blackburn, is this the best analytics app on the iPhone?

My app of the week is a very useful analytics client by Thomas Blackburn. I have used a number of analytics apps over the last 12 months and I would say that this is not only the best but also the one that is nearest to Google Analytics itself.

You sign in with your Google Analytics account and you are presented with the profiles that you have set up for your various sites. Pick a profile and then you are able to start to drill down into your chosen sites data. You can start with a summary of visitors for today, yesterday or the last 28 days. There is, of course, the option to set your own date range.

I find with most of the analytics packages that they are OK if you need to check some basic info quickly when you are away from my PC or laptop. You know the sort of thing, you are out shopping when a client calls and asks why they have suddenly had twice the number of enquiries in the last three days. Normally I can check the visitor stats and advise them that in the last three days I have registered their Blog with Feedburner and since then the traffic to the site has doubled, with the bulk of the new visitors coming through Feedburner.

With AnalyticsPro I have a whole raft of information at my finger tips including:

  • Countries
  • Location
  • Language
  • Visitor Loyalty
  • Browser
  • Operating System
  • Traffic Sources
  • Search Keywords
  • AdWords campaigns
  • Plus many more

The app loads quickly and gives you the data you request rapidly, suggesting that the code has been really well optimised. It is a very secure app and uses Google’s API to transmit and receive data.

I think the best endorsement I can give is that during this week I was speaking to a client and we were discussing her AdWords campaign, as a result of information that I gleaned from AnalyticsPro relating to which pages are the most popular on their site we have been able to tweak the AdWords campaign and are looking forward to gaining extra leverage from the clients budget.

I admit I could have reached the same conclusion if I had been at my desk. What surprised me was that we were able to reach the decision while I was sitting on a park bench with my dogs.

The UI is excellent with items nicely spaced out and the app is intuitive to use. This is not an app that I just recommend, this is an app that I have been using all week and will continue to use for the foreseeable future.

You can download Analytics Pro from the Apple App Store. At £3.99 you may think that it is a little pricey for an app, but what price do you put on having information at your fingertips? In my opinion this is the best analytics package for the iPhone.

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App of the week: Earthquake by Reto Meier on Android

Monday, August 9th, 2010

I was spoilt for choice this week trying to decide which my favourite “App of the Week” was. It was a there horse race at the start of the weekend, but eventually I decided to go for “Earthquake” by Reto Meier.

This is a great App that takes information from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) such as quake location, magnitude, damage radius etc and then overlays the info onto Google Maps.

You can configure the app so that it only displays data on quakes above a certain magnitude. There is an option to PUSH an alert to you if your location is within the rumble range of a quake. The refresh rate is also configurable with times ranging from every 5 minutes to once a day.

In all honesty living in Blackburn, Lancashire this app is more of a novelty than a necessity, though I have felt two earthquakes here in the last 10 years. Maybe if I was in San Diego or Los Angeles I might have a more practical use for the app, but it is still interesting to see just how many quakes take place every day all over the world where continental and oceanic plates are pushing against each other.

It’s free so you have nothing to lose, go on download it today and give it a whirl. You never know, you might just feel the Earth move! One last thing before I go, if you do use it take a look at North Korea. Zoom in as far as you can and see what happens, it’s very interesting.

Have you ever been in an earthquake? Why not leave me and our other readers a comment?

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App of the Week: Jorte for Android

Saturday, July 31st, 2010
Screenshot of the Jorte calendar/To Do App

Screenshot of the Jorte Calendar/To Do App

Jorte is a free calendar/to do list application for the Android platform. I have downloaded it for my Nexus One and I would say that this is the first app that has started to make me think that Android can rival the iPhone. The calendar comes with a choice of monthly or weekly views. Not only will it sync with your Google calendar but I have been able to get it to sync with Outlook. The syncing process was very simple and straight forward.

It is very simple to add new events to the calendar and you save a click on the iPhone by simply having to tap on the date in question to bring up the dialogue box into which you add your event details.

The killer feature of this app occurs when you enter the location of the event. It immediately becomes a link to Google maps that shows you your current location and the location of the event. I nearly fell over the first time that I saw this. I often think that there is a lot of hype around geo-tagging and a lot of apps mke use of it to broadcast your current location which I personally think can be a bad thing as it can tell the bad guys when you are away from home and possibly give them an insight as to how long it will be before you return home again! With this app I see a really positive use of geo-tagging.

Within the options you can download a variety of national holidays, although there is a mistake with the UK holidays as they have both the first and last Mondays in August as official holidays when in reality it is only the last one.

There is also an option to have a to do list at the bottom of your screen and I have found this invaluable for just making quick notes about upcoming projects to which no fixed timeline has yet been established.

All in all I think this is the most useful app that I have so far found for the NexusOne, but if you know of one that’s better then do leave me a comment and let me know.

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