Pinterest has one of the top marketing buzzwords of 2012, as its explosive growth (even though it’s still in invite-only status) has left business owners the world over scrambling to get a good idea of how to utilise it to promote their own business and products. Read More >>>
How to run an online business
Pinterest the next big thing for business ?
// posted by Stuart Hutchinson on Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Feb 14
Jan 18
For a range of reasons, such as lack of awareness, skills or confidence, small business owners are less likely to set up a website, create a social media profile or trade with customers online than larger firms: Read More >>>
Dec 05
News that Adobe has ended support of its widespread Mobile Flash technology, which allows the viewing of around a quarter of small business websites from mobile and tablet devices in the UK, could cost SMEs a total of £500 million as their websites become obsolete to a significant percentage of web users.With approximately 25 per cent of small business websites using at least some elements of Flash in their website it is estimated that t could cost an average of £1,000 per site to upgrade. So if even half of the UK’s 4.5 million SMEs have a website, that’s a potential cost to the SME community of over £500 million. Read More >>>
Nov 29
Just a few months ago, Google kicked brands, businesses, bands, and other non-personal profiles off of Google+, it's social media network, with a message that they’d be welcome back soon with something specifically created for them. That day has come and it's time to exploit the networking and business opportunities on this latest addition to the social media landscape. Read More >>>
Getting your bricks and mortar business online
// posted by Stuart Hutchinson on Friday, November 25, 2011
Nov 25
The Internet is here to stay, no doubt about it. Yet there are still many small businesses haven’t taken the plunge and moved online. Some may not feel they need yet, or cannot perceive the benefits it would bring their business. Others may be scared because the territory is unfamiliar to them. Whatever the case may be, below are some simple steps you can take to move your brick-and-mortar business online—something you must do if you want to be able to compete in the long run. Your customers are online. Your competitors are online. Don’t get left behind. Read More >>>
Read This and Convert More with Calls to Action
// posted by Stuart Hutchinson on Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Nov 23
You website looks good, loads quickly, has compelling content but still isn't converting - time to look at the 'calls to action' Read More >>>
Sep 14
The Internet is a wash with websites all vying for visitors. So what do you need to do to stand out from the crowd, get more visitors and more importantly get this visitors coming back time and time again.
Let's get back to basics. Forget complicated ads, expensive SEO or dubious link building solutions. Getting the basics right will almost certainly stand your site in good stead.
Read More >>>
Apr 26
Content, content, content. It’s an obvious part of any website. In fact, you’ve
probably heard the phrase content is king. However content is often overlooked
and many website owners don’t realise their content isn’t quite up to it until
it’s too late.
Read More >>>
Getting external links to your site can really help your SEO
// posted by Stuart Hutchinson on Monday, November 22, 2010
Nov 22
Links from other websites to yours are one of the most important methods search engines use to determine where to rank your website in search results. The more links you have from other websites, the higher you are likely to be ranked. Use this guide to help you understand more about generating linkbacks.
Before you start generating link, you need to develop a link strategy to help you decide which websites you want to target. Use businesses which are in the same field as you but not competitors, then write to them and suggest a link exchange, where they link to you in return for you providing a link on your site to them. Remember to be clear on which keywords you would like them to use in your link text.
Using directories
Directories are like online versions of telephone directories, linking to thousands of businesses based on criteria such as location or business type. The DMOZ Open Directory Project is the largest on the web, and is free to submit to, while the Yahoo directory costs around $299 (£213) for submission. Other sites such as Yell, Thomson Local and Daltons Business are also worth taking into consideration.
Content-driven websites and online newsletters often use article submission websites to gather free content for their publications. Write articles on your area of expertise, remembering to focus on your keywords and provide at least one link to your website, and submit them to the article submission site. If publishers pick them up, they will link to your website. Remember to set up a Google Alert to notify you if your piece has been picked up.
Using social media
Social networking websites such as Facebook, YouTube, Flickr and Twitter are all great ways of generating links - set up a profile and group on each website and hey presto, the number of linkbacks to your site increase. You can use these pages to keep your customers up to date on your marketing activities as well. Wiki sites such as Wikipedia are also useful for this - create a page for your business to generate yet another link.
What can you do to boost your search engine ranking ?
// posted by Stuart Hutchinson on Thursday, November 18, 2010
Nov 18
Search engine optimisation (SEO) isn't all metatags and linkbacks - using your keywords and phrases frequently but sensibly and in the right places on your website help to optimise your website and allow Google, Yahoo and other search engines to recognise which search results you want it included in. Read More >>>
Recent Articles
- Beware the Flashback Trojan
- Pinterest the next big thing for business ?
- Web training is essential....
- Planning your website 2
- The end of Flash ?
- Use you blog to boost your SEO
- Google + Pages for Business
- Prevent your ecommerce business failing.
- Getting your bricks and mortar business online
- Are you ready for Cyber Monday ?
