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Making The Most Of Your Website
Joseph Sless | 16 Apr 2008
Since your website was first put together, how do you know what benefits it has delivered to your business? There are a number of ways to measure your website’s impact and monitor its success over time.
Most companies setup a website to form part of their overall marketing strategy and to help promote their brand. They are looking for a steady flow of traffic to the site and some level of tangible benefits – sales, enquiries or other visible results.
The traffic statistics available from your web host are very useful in understanding how successful your website is - what keywords people are searching for to find you, how long they spend on your site and what content they look at. This will help you to monitor the site’s impact as a promotion... | Full article...
The Long Tail of Search Engine Success
Mark Simpson | 26 Mar 2008
The most common question I get asked about search engine optimisation is “Why does my competitor’s website rank above mine for my main keywords?”
There are many reasons why a website may rank lower for a particular keyword, but it’s important to know that your search engine positions for specific keywords are not important, as long as you have a general presence for a wide range of words and phrases. This is because you can’t accurately guess the exact phrases people will search for.
Take the phrase ‘Jobs in Manchester’ as an example. If you were looking for a job in Manchester, this is probably not the exact phrase you would use. You are likely to be more specific about the industry or location you want to work in, by searching for ‘sales j... | Full article...
Rank Better In Google With A Little Help From Your Friends, Family & Suppliers
Mark Simpson | 23 Jan 2008
Links from other websites to yours are among the most important factors Google will take into consideration when deciding where to rank your website in its search engine for a particular keyword/term.
The reason is that inbound links are difficult to acquire and they usually mean someone likes your website so much they want others to know about it. So how do you get links into your website without paying for them?
A good place to start is to think about who you know - who could you ask to link to your website?
• Friends & Family – This is almost always a guaranteed hit. If your friend has a website for their business or even a blog, ask them to provide a link from their website to yours. They will probably ask for one back - try and avoid th... | Full article...
Ethical Search Engine Optimisation
Paul Brooks | 12 Dec 2007
Members of the web design industry often talk of two types of search engine optimisation: White Hat and Black Hat. White Hat SEO is ‘ethical’ and uses techniques that search engines would approve of in order to promote websites for relevant keywords. Black Hat search engine optimisation involves methods that attempt to deceive search engines into ranking a website higher than they should.
Many of the larger search engines, such as Google and MSN, have tools to identify websites that use unethical techniques to improve search engine optimisation, so it is usually a good idea to steer well clear of underhand tactics.
Unfortunately, many site owners are paying SEO experts to carry out Black Hat search engine optimisation, without understanding w... | Full article...
Tell Your Website Visitors Everything
Paul Brooks | 27 Nov 2007
A common mistake in web design is to limit the amount of content included on a website. The belief is that visitors will be driven away by reams of text and that a website can’t look attractive with a lot of words.
However, you should remember that web users won’t visit your website to look at the pictures – they are there to learn more about you and your products or services.
A well designed website should be able to satisfy their hunger for information, but also display content in an attractive, intelligent format.
When developing the text content for a website, you should consider all of your audiences and try to establish what they will be interested in reading and why they would visit your website.
Some visitors will simply be look... | Full article...
How Search Engines Work
Paul Brooks | 8 Oct 2007
Search engines, such as Google, Yahoo and MSN, are often the first point of call for web users looking to find a product or service or information on a particular topic. You type in a keyword or phrase and the search engine will display a list of websites that relate to it. But how do they decide which websites to show you?
The search engines keep (very long) lists of all of the websites that exist on the Internet and they ensure these lists are up-to-date, they visit them regularly using automated computers called ‘spiders’. These spiders visit every page on your website, recording keywords and phrases that they find along the way – the more often a keyword appears on a page, the more that page will be associated with it.
These spiders take ... | Full article...
Increasing Online Sales In Your eCommerce Store
Paul Brooks | 11 Sep 2007
An online store can be compared to a stall that sells fruit and vegetables in your local market. If the stall doesn’t look clean or the produce doesn’t look fresh, people won’t buy.
If your eCommerce website attracts visitors from search engines, but doesn’t close as many sales as you would like, you need to take a close look at its design and features.
Pay attention to the factors that will influence a buyer’s decision and you will find ways to increase sales performance.
When a visitor first arrives at your online store, they will be filled with reasons not to buy. They have probably never heard of you, they don’t know if you sell what they want, they don’t know if you can deliver on time and they don’t know how your prices compare. You... | Full article...
Is Your Website Invisible To Search Engines?
Paul Brooks | 3 Aug 2007
Some of the most attractive and innovative websites on the Internet are virtually invisible to search engines, such as Google, MSN and Yahoo.
Search engines cannot ‘see’ images, animations or colour differences. The only parts of a page visible to them are the text paragraphs, links, menu items and titles. If your website makes use of images or animated elements, it may be a good idea to look at alternative options to produce better search engine results.
Search engines will regularly visit your website to review the text content and record the subjects it covers. In simple terms, they look for repetition of phrases and keywords – the more a specific word appears, they more likely it is that a page will appear in search results when visitors ... | Full article...
Keeping Your Website Content Fresh
Paul Brooks | 16 Jul 2007
In the everyday running of a business, updating the company website is rarely at the top of a to-do list. As with many areas of marketing, it can be neglected in favour of more pressing, business-critical matters. But the biggest mistake a company can make with its website is to not change it regularly.
A stagnant website will have detrimental effects on both your site’s effectiveness at generating sales and its position in search engines. If a website’s most recent news article was posted 12 months ago, visitors will have serious doubts about the relevance of its other content. Adding or changing something on a regular basis will greatly enhance your site and deliver better results.
A website’s position in search engines, such as Google, i... | Full article...
Regulating Bad Web Design
Paul Brooks | 11 Jun 2007
For an industry that is so important to the world, is it not a little surprising that there is no regulation for web design? Anyone is free to call themself a web designer and go about their business building websites for clients, even without any real experience, training or formal education.
The vast number of badly designed websites on the Internet is evidence of the problems this causes. With no regulation or guidelines for quality in web design, businesses have little choice but to follow their gut instincts when selecting a designer.
Surely there should be some form of ‘watchdog’ or neutral party to monitor the quality of service delivered by web designers and provide impartial advice for customers? This would not only increase protect... | Full article...
Web Design In The Recruitment Industry
Joseph Sless | 12 Apr 2007
Recruitment is probably one of the most competitive industries in the UK. There are approximately 10,000 recruitment companies operating in the UK and setting themselves apart from their competition is a high priority for many of them.
To help compete with larger and more established players, recruiters can take advantage of the one area where their size or history will have little impact. A large number of job seekers use the Internet for their initial searches and an effective website can greatly increase contact with relevant, qualified candidates, as well as clients.
With so many alternative job sites, a recruiter’s offering needs to be carefully designed to deliver what clients and candidates are looking for. Clients expect a professiona... | Full article...
Six Steps to a Successful Pay-Per-Click Campaign
Mark Simpson | 9 Mar 2007
Pay-per-click campaigns are becoming increasingly popular due to their success and ability to bypass natural search engine listings and drive relevant traffic to a specified web page. We have identified six steps to ensure a successful pay-per-click campaign:
STEP 1: Decide Who You Want To Target?
You are never going to sell your product to everyone in the world. The Yorkie chocolate bar is not marketed towards women and pink mobile phones aren’t designed for men.
One of the most commonly-made mistakes in pay-per-click advertising is to target everyone with your sales message. By more carefully channelling your advert to a niche audience, such as male professionals aged between 30 and 40, you are guaranteeing yourself a high... | Full article...
Should My Website Be A Priority?
Joseph Sless | 2 Mar 2007
In this day and age, virtually all forms of enterprises have some type of online presence. Figures for Internet usage continue to grow and the ways in which people use the Internet are becoming ever more varied. A functional and professional website can help you tap into this ever-expanding marketplace, as well as taking the pressure off staff to generate business when they already have a hundred and one other things to do.
As your business grows, the amount of time you have to dedicate to tasks that can easily be put off decreases. Getting round to the website is one such task and many companies now have an inaccurate representation of their business on the Internet.
However, a website is not an area that should be considered a non-urgent task... | Full article...
The Growth Of Internet Usage
Joseph Sless | 5 Feb 2007
Having a website is becoming ever more important. The National Statistics Office’s figures on Internet usage in the UK show how vital a functional and professional-looking website is.
In 1998 only 9% (2.2m) of households in the UK had Internet access. Since then the World Wide Web has grown at a huge rate. By 2004 52% of adults in the UK used the Internet and the following year that figure had risen by 5% to 59%. And 56% were using the Internet to book tickets or pay for services or products online. By September 2006, 63% of adults in the UK had some form of regular internet access.
With strong evidence to back up continued exponential growth of the Internet, it seems foolhardy not to take your company’s web presence seriously. The fact is th... | Full article...
Does Your Business Need A Website?
Paul Brooks | 29 Jan 2007
The short answer is yes. The long answer involves a bit of discussion on what benefits a website will bring to your business.
In most cases, a business will be looking for a direct increase in sales or sales leads. These would come from customers either filling in online forms, calling the phone number they find on the site or possibly paying for what you sell online by credit card. But not all businesses want sales from their site.
Some products or services are too complicated to sell online or the sales relationship is handled through face-to-face meetings with customers. For example, manufacturers may sell their products through distributors or wholesalers and would never need to make direct contact with the end customer.
For these ty... | Full article...
How Do I Get The Most Out Of My Website?
Joseph Sless | 25 Jan 2007
So you’ve decided that you need a website and you have spent a lot of money getting one designed but after the initial payment how can you make sure you are getting the most from your website?
It is not uncommon for a web designer to design your site and leave you with it, but in reality the job has only begun. For a website to be effective it must be well maintained long-term to ensure a professional and up-to-date image of the business it represents. It is no good if the site still talks about news from 5 years ago. A potential customer visiting your site could be put off if incorrect information is being presented on the website. Therefore it is vital for you to know how to access and maintain the information and textual parts of the website... | Full article...
Is Search Engine Optimisation Profitable?
Mark Simpson | 17 Jan 2007
When about to invest in any kind of marketing or advertising, a business will ask the question: “What return on investment will I get from this”?
Some methods are more tangible than others. For example, place an ad in the Yellow Pages and you know a copy will be posted through every door in your region. Search Engine Optimisation (excluding pay-per-click) on the other hand, is a little harder to predict. How do you know when somebody will visit Google or MSN and type in ‘spongey widget manufacturers in London’ – or whatever your keywords are?
The problem is, if somebody does search for your product or service and your website isn’t optimised, you won’t be found and a potential sale is lost.
Google alone receives an estimated 200 million sea... | Full article...
Measuring the Success of Your Website
Paul Brooks | 8 Jan 2007
When you first commission a website, you will have some idea of the benefits you expect it to deliver. Perhaps it should attract customers from search engines or present a more professional image for your business.
After it is up-and-running, it is vital to measure the success of the site so that you can fix any problems and keep it effective and constantly improved.
Many businesses will measure a website's success by the end results - how many sales it has generated, how much good feedback it gets, etc.
However, there is a lot to be learnt by digging deeper and reviewing all aspects of a website's performance, including its presence in search engines, the number of visitors it gets (and which pages they visit) and the tangible results you ... | Full article...
When Your Web Designer Disappears or Goes Bust
Paul Brooks | 10 Dec 2006
Has your web designer disappeared or gone bust? This can leave you and your business in a compromised position, especially if you rely on your website for business generation.
Web design is a fickle industry. The amount of competition facing a small web design company is daunting and a newly emerging agency will find it difficult to make an impact in the crowded marketplace.
As a result, they may struggle to generate sales, fail to bring in enough money and be forced to close down.
While this is sad for the web designers, it will also be a problem for the portfolio of clients they leave behind. Their websites will be left unattended and will slowly become stagnant and out-of-date. They will eventually (or immediately) be turned off by the co... | Full article...
Domain Name Ownership Disputes
Paul Brooks | 10 Nov 2006
Domain name disputes arrive when somebody has registered the domain name for your business but has no intention of using it for any reason other than cybersquatting and making profit.
A domain name is the address of a website. For example, we use the domain name andlight.co.uk. They can be set up by web designers or hosting companies and are usually registered to a particular owner for one or more years.
There are a number of disputes that can arise over the ownership of domain names:
1) Somebody else owns a domain name that you would like to use
If the domain name represents a brand or company that you own (e.g. yourcompanyname.com), then you may have legal rights to it, assuming the current owner doesn't have a similarly legitimate cl... | Full article...
Improving Your Search Engine Position and Increasing Traffic
Paul Brooks | 10 Oct 2006
Millions of people tune into the leading search engines every single day, some of these people will be your potential customers. Can you afford to let these customers go to your competitors?
Many factors affect how high a search engine will list your website when someone searches for a relevant key phrase.
Search engines, such as Google, MSN and Ask Jeeves will maintain and constantly update a record of your website. Their computers automatically visit your site on a regular basis (usually at least once a month) and review its content and structure and the way in which it has been built.
They also consider how long the site has been around, how often it is updated and how many other websites link into it.
Using this information and an eve... | Full article...
How To Spend Money On Promoting Your Website
Your website will not be effective unless people visit it and, as more and more of your customers are using the Internet regularly, it's important to make sure they see your part of it. | Full article...
Is Your Website Soft?
Every salesperson is taught how to sell the benefits of a product or service. They learn how to identify a customer's needs and how to relate them to what they sell. Your website needs the same lessons. | Full article...
Friends, Family And DIY
Everybody knows a web designer. Your brother, sister, cousin, nephew, aunty or uncle are certain to have the skills? If not, then someone you know from the pub? Or a long-time family friend? Maybe even you?
But the cost of an amateur website could be far more than you pay to the designer. | Full article...
What's The Point?
A lot of businesses seem confused about why they have a website. They know that they need one and they’re sure it deserves some portion of their marketing budget, but they’re not sure why. | Full article...
