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Google

3 Ways To Get Your Business Online For Free

1: Set up a Facebook page

Facebook PageThe chances are that you, or one of your close friends or work colleagues uses Facebook. If not. Then stop reading and sign up. For the rest of you who are (or have people close to you) living in the year 2014 then all you need to do is set up a page, you can do so by following this link HERE.


The reason why owning a Facebook page is more useful than a couple of years ago is that Google has started factoring them into their algorithm. If you type in your company name into Google after setting up a page there is a high chance your businesses page will appear (see our image above). Be sure to secure your unique username for your page, you can do this in the settings of a page.

2: Set up a blog

Setting up a blog is totally free and is a great way to start off the process of getting your business online. I recommend the following:

TumblrTumblr, recently acquired by Yahoo! is one of the most interesting blog networks out there. It’s certainly the most interactive. You can choose from a wide variety of themes (design/style/layout) and it’s really easy to use. The URL will be your business.tumblr.com.

RunThrough-Tumblr
Blogger – This Google product can be found HERE, you can again have a different theme on there your business.blogspot.com
WordPress.comWordPress is by far the most popular CMS, and is what your web designer should be setting you up with. Like Tumblr & Blogger, WordPress offers a similar service. You can pick from themes & it’s very easy to add and edit pages/posts. yourbusiness.wordpress.com is what it will look like. Once you get some funding together you should talk to a web designer about building a custom theme which suits your business & if you sell products introduce an e-commerce aspect to it.

Twitter

3: Set up a Twitter account

Contrary to popular belief, Twitter is the ONLY real social network. No other platform allows you to interact like Twitter. You can talk to anyone who wants to listen, and even if they don’t. In the same was as Facebook, Google has allowed Twitter profiles to be promoted in it’s algorithm. So by simply having a profile you will have a platform to work from, will receive exposure in Google & you can talk to anyone who could possibly be interested in your product.

There is evidence to suggest that a dormant social media profile on Twitter/Facebook will not be factored into a Google algorithm nor will a blog thats not being updated. So once you start, don’t stop or else that initial impetuous will be lost and it could end being detrimental to your business.

In summary, if you want to get online to start marketing your business it has never been easier. We would recommend you have a play around with the options we gave above on a personal level before you implement into your business.

If you’d like some free and detailed advice then feel free to give us a call on 020 8144 5685 or email matt@freshdeveloper.com.

 

More Space

More Space

More space (also known as I Need More Space) were in need of a website refresh to cater for their large portfolio of clients and the high demands for their services, a place where potential customers could find out more about the company and take a look at some of the work More Space have carried out in the past.

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What we did for I Need More Space

More Space BrandingWe started by upgrading their content management system from a dated Joomla install to the latest, most friendliest version of WordPress. The existing More Space branding was great so we didn’t want to change that, instead we went to work on the website design and layout. The previous website wasn’t very organised, the fonts were a little off and from a user’s point-of-view, it needed to be much easier to navigate to the important information. So we repositioned the menu, placed a showcase of previous conversions, extensions and basements directly on the homepage, and integrated a modal pop-up style ‘Call To Action’ right at eye level so that any potential customers can get in touch without fumbling around for a contact form.

What do More Space think of it?

The feedback we have received from the client is tremendous and we will be working with them whilst they get used to the new website. Since it’s running the ever popular WordPress platform, the guys at More Space will be able to run and manage the site internally without reaching out to us for text/image changes, etc.

Have a look for yourself by going to the I Need More Space website – http://www.ineedmorespace.co.uk/

Software/Coding Used

WordPress / jQuery / CSS / HTML5

 

twitter-for-business

Twitter Adverts, are they all that?

Twitter last week opened up it’s adverts to small & medium businesses within the UK for the first time. The site currently only makes money from it’s adverts so it was only a matter of time before the scheme was rolled out everywhere.

“All you need is a Twitter account and a credit card. You’re in control of your ads, the audience you want to reach, and of course your budget. Best of all, you will only be charged when people follow your Promoted Account or retweet, reply, favorite or click on your Promoted Tweets. You are never charged for your organic Twitter activity.” – Ravi Narasimhan, a product manager at Twitter

How Does It Work

As you can see in the below screenshot, you create a campaign, set a daily budget & enter a max bid. The whole process looks a lot like Facebook’s advertising but so it should, Facebook Ads work. This page shows the impressions your sponsored tweet has made, it’s engagements (people who have clicked the link you provide), what your spend is and the estimated cost per click.

You can see the tweets in a number of places.

  • At the top of search results pages on Twitter & their Advertising partners.
  • On a users Home Timeline if it’s relevant to them.
  • On a Brands profile page or pinned to the top of their timeline.

twitter-analytics

 

How can you target people?

Twitters targeted ads are fantastic, you can select other users to target directly by selecting their profiles. Essentially taking away all the hard work of getting those people to follow you & allowing you to direct an advert to them. You can even narrow it down to location & certain interests.

The whole thing is very detailed & it’s exactly how it should be.

 

twitter-targetting

 

Conclusion

Give it a go. Twitter would not of rolled this out if it was at all sub standard. I expect that Twitter Ads will catch up with Facebook & Google Ads in not too distant future within the UK. Check them out HERE.

 

Browser Compatibility

Why You Shouldn’t Use Internet Explorer

Microsoft Internet Explorer has had a good ride. It’s had fun while it lasted. However, I’m afraid now the only reason they have any sort of a market share is because Microsoft sells it’s desktop & laptops so cheap that if you were to open a office or currently have one it’s not worth the hassle to switch.

With a variety of new web technologies like HTML5, the 8th edition of Internet Explorer for example doesn’t support it. With 19%  of the websites out there now being run on WordPress (this will only increase) we find that earlier versions of Internet Explorer find it hard to process load around 60% of these sites if compatibility issues are not addressed properly. Compatibility testing is needed to make sure your site works on Internet Explorer whereas Chrome, Firefox & Safari all work perfectly fine each time.

Whats the reason for this?

Google & Mozilla for example pay independent security researchers to check for bugs. Microsoft don’t do this. They are such a big corporation now that they work in house to fix issues and therefore aren’t motivated to change. They also fix bugs on a schedule, whereas other browsers are more fluid & allow changes to be made whenever they are needed.

Market share decrease

Have a look at the below graph, you can see how IE’s share has decreased substantially over the last few years

In September 2008, IE had 67.16%, Google Chrome had 1.03%, Mozilla’s Firefox had 25.77% & Apples Safari had 3.00%. Now from last month, October 2013 IE has 28.96%, Chrome 40.44%, Firefox 18.11% & Safari 8.54%. As you can see by these stats the shift is significant.

StatCounter-browser-ww-monthly-200807-201310

How is this going to stop?

In my personal opinion the rise of Mobile & the poor usability of Internet Explorer will only mean the decline will not stop. It will eventually become redundant. The functionality of IE has been imporved in the newer additions & they have gone back to the drawing board to build from scratch but I still don’t think this will be enough to stop the decline when Google & Mozilla’s absolute priority is making sure their browser is the best.

How does it affect your business

If you are a business owner and are getting a website built you need to make sure there is compatibility testing, if a potential customer reaches your site & bits of it don’t work they will be instantly put off and you will lose business.

Our Advice

If you are a business owner & your staff current use IE. Make the change to Google Chrome. It’s quick, virus free & easy to use. Having Internet Explorer will only cause issues and frustration for less tech savvy members of staff that don’t know there are any other options out there.

 

beautiful-hummingbird-wallpaper

Google’s algorithm change will affect your small business

Keyword optimisation has been the buzz term in SEO since the industry came into being. Optimising your site with selected keywords would help your site appear on Google when someone typed that particular word in. That’s still the case, however Google has now started to include phrases or questions into it’s mystical algorithm.

So now, rather than having a page optimised like: Hairdressers Luton | Male Hairdressing you should be thinking about optimising like: Where is the best hairdresser in Luton?

With features like Siri on the iPhone becoming more prevalent Google has adapted & become more human. And this trend won’t stop until every single question has been answered.

This means that by simply looking at your business, listening to your customers and remembering their questions you can optimise your site much easier than before. This change means that it has become easier to be found when you offer a specific and unique solution to a question, but it will make it a lot harder for small business to compete with bigger businesses when it comes to the broader questions.

Where is the best pizza in Luton? Well unless your called Best Pizza then your going to find it difficult to compete with Pizza Hut/Dominos/Pizza Express because the amount of people talking and commenting on pages on those websites with that expression will still be taken more seriously by Google.

The ‘Hummingbird’ according to the Guardian, is the biggest change in Googles algorithm since 2010.  However, I feel this is just the start.

By Matt ‘Woody’ Wood

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Snapchat – The New TV Advert

Imagine a company could make a video of how their product worked or show it in action, then send that video directly too you. You could only see it for 10 seconds and you had to watch it or else you would have one of those annoying unread message icons until you did. Would you like this? Would you find it annoying? Would it even matter if you did, because you watched it, you don’t have much choice.

Snapchat allows this. However, right now, it’s not being used to that effect. Snapchat is untainted, it’s a novelty for some and others it’s now engrained in their life. People send videos & pictures of their everyday activities to people in their contact list. Eating breakfast, driving in the car, reading the paper & walking the dog. All are Snapchat worthy moments. Some may think that’s crazy, but it’s happening.  The company itself has secured major financial backing over the last few months and is now a commodity to be reckoned with.

Marketers have not clocked on to it’s usefulness (Lynx have become the first brand to use Snapchat as a marketing tool in the UK) as yet. All you need is somebody’s phone number, a smart phone and a 3G/4G connection. Unlike Vine & Instagram, where videos can be made/edited then stored on a profile page, Snapchat is instantly forgotten (so we hope). As soon as the video (or picture) has been watched. Like a TV advert or as you drive down the motorway and see a billboard, you look, and if it engages you enough then you remember it. 10 seconds to get your point across.

If you think you can capture the attention of people in 10 seconds, not annoy them and be persistent then Snapchat marketing could be the one for you. You are not relying on people “liking” or “following” you, you can just send them something. You have one chance, one opportunity (to seize everything you ever wanted…sorry) to get into peoples heads….what are you going to do?

Fresh Developer

Fresh Business Cards

Moo.com, you’re quite cool. Just thought we’d show you some appreciation for the quality of the cards :). For anybody thinking about getting some new cards, give Moo a try and go for the Luxe ones with a Matte finish.

Wordpress vs Magento

Magento vs WordPress – Your eCommerce Website

We’re going to have a look at how WordPress currently stacks up against Magento in 2013. There are so many eCommerce platforms available these days, which makes choosing one to develop your website with very difficult. The two that stand out for us are the long-standing Big Dogs, ‘Magento’, and the Up and Comers, ‘WordPress’. Of course, this is simply our opinion and there’s no right or wrong answer. You should weigh up what’s on offer across various platforms and see if your requirements are going to be fulfilled.

Ok, Magento, why are you so well known as being top dog in the eCommerce world? Well, Magento is definitely one of the world’s most powerful open-source eCommerce solutions. Whilst being cost effective, there are also a mass of extensions available for free or to purchase. With various payment integration options and custom pricing functionality, Magento is specifically developed for eCommerce.

WordPress is famous for it’s blogging domination. With millions of websites choosing to run Worpress, it’s gone from being a very strong platform for blogs to being a choice favourite for developing entire websites. It’s easy to use content management system makes managing posts and pages simple for any level of user.

What do they have in common?

  • Both are Open Source platforms
  • Both are available for free
  • Both are capable of having blog functionality (albeit WordPress is the absolute master in this area)
  • Both are adaptable to be customised with hundreds (or thousands) of themes
  • Both are available with masses of extensions / plugins
  • Both are SEO friendly
  • Both are powerful enough to help you take over the world!

So which should I use??

It depends. Both WordPress and Magento are heavies in the web world. WordPress is friendlier (or let’s say less intimidating) to the inexperienced. Magento is currently more powerful as an eCommerce platform. If you’re looking for a small to medium online shop, which looks good and works smoothly, then WordPress is amazing and will run great. If you’re going to be developing a shop that has hundreds of different products, offers, vouchers and users then Magento is the one for you.

instagram-video-still

Embedding Instagram Videos

Instagram have finally decided to join the video game, probably just as you were considering getting Vine App now that it’s available on Android devices now.

Have a read of the Guardian article HERE that talks about the battle between the Facebook owned Instagram and Twitter backed Vine.

If you want to learn how to embed videos then have a look at the Mashable guide HERE, it’s much more complicated than embedding a vine, however it is possible. We think Instagram will catch up soon.

Get SEO Right!

Get It Right First Time: I Meant The SEO Not Just The Design Stupid!

I have lost count the number of times I’ve come across websites that have a superb, aesthetic design, but haven’t bothered to make a few simple changes for their on page SEO strategy.

It’s like this: you decorate your new shop inside with glorious interior design scheme and window dressing to die for, and then leave the shutters down 24/7.  Well, that’s a valid analogy and should be taken seriously, especially if you’re a local business.   If done correctly, it can help your business get seen and can bring in the extra cash flow you need to stay solvent.

So what do I mean by on page SEO (search engine optimisation)?

If people are going to find your  website, you need to optimise your website;

Here’s a list of Do’s and Don’ts for on page SEO

1. Don’t copy your text from someone else’s  website.  Duplicate and non unique content is frowned upon by search engines and will do you and your website’s online credibility any good at all.

2. Don’t over optimise your pages and stuff as many keywords as possible into the body  text or title tags.

3. Don’t use keyword density tools and aim for the highest possible density for your target keyword – this is old hat and will definitely result in an over optimisation penalty.

4. Do carry out thorough keyword research for all your pages.  Write your page copy naturally, with keywords in mind whilst you’re writing. Obviously, if you’re trying to rank for a keyword, it should at least be on the page once.

5. Do be careful with your title tags and header tags; don’t over align them. So if you own an online  battery store, avoid setting your title tag, your H1 header and your H2 header to ‘ Cheap Batteries Online’

6. Do avoid over doing the internal linking using keyword based anchor text.

If you’re a small local business, you can quite easily benefit from your on page SEO strategy for medium to long tail search terms.  Especially for location related terms  eg. ‘chartered accountants high wycombe’

I can recommend some background reading into the Google Panda changes  and how to survive the Penguin updates, which were released earlier this year. In a nutshell, write naturally, engage your visitors through your websites pages and don’t over optimise – shows you’re not trying to manipulate the search engines.

Here’s a classic example of a company that has forgotten to even do the basic optimisation of their websites home page (the most important page on any ones site)  and category pages. See the Zenbedroom’s home page – there isn’t even a brand name in the title tag and with a null description tag as well. The eCommerce project manager must have been half asleep on one of their overly expensive beds.

You can always acquire the services of a trusted seo company like Rankability and get them to evaluate and audit your website.  If you have a number of websites, get them to do the first one, and maybe invest in some SEO training, so you can replicate the process.

A small degree of optimisation can go a long way. Neglect your website, and you’ll be neglected by the search engines.