Archive for August, 2012

46. How social book marking can help a small business

Friday, August 24th, 2012

So what is Social Booking and can it really help your business?

small business social bookmark icons

Social Bookmarking is the ability to save and tag any website, blog, article or post that is of interest to you. It is very similar to the “My Favourites” function which should be built into the internet options of your computer, one difference from this being that you register a free account with a website like Delicious and therefore any link you have saved is done so online and can be accessed from any computer.

 

Another difference is that you can share information and follow other users of the social bookmarking site that you choose to sign up with. This is a valuable tool, as it allows you to see the good web content that other online users with the same interests as you are accessing and you can be kept up to date with the latest trends instantly. In the majority of cases, readers can mark or comment on a web post they find particularly interesting and as a result the popularity of the link can increase considerably and create more traffic to a certain website.

 

It therefore does not come as a surprise that many businesses have realised the potential of online marketing by bookmarking the content of their own websites. If a website’s content is interesting, innovative and can capture the attention of the reader, businesses can expect to receive more traffic to their website which in turn leads to increased exposure of their products and services.

 

Many of the social bookmarking sites like Delicious have achieved a high page ranking with the most popular search engines like Google and Yahoo and as such the content within them is held in higher regard. Having a link to your website from one of the most popular social bookmarking sites can be a powerful aid with which to increase your own ranking within search engines.

 

When saving a link, most sites like Delicious will advise you of how many other people have bookmarked the same URL. This is not only important in respect of knowing if your web content is of interest to potential clients but also in respect of that of your competitors. By searching keywords you can see bookmarks which match the criteria you have entered and the results will be listed in order of popularity and trend.

 

In many circumstances when a bookmark has shown to be extremely popular the social bookmarking sites will highlight them on their home page therefore affording the originator of the post extra marketing without the need of a user having to input keywords. Often the fact that content has reached such popularity could mean that within a matter of days it can go viral.

 

Whatever your business, product or service, in today’s age of technology and the fact that so many people use the internet it is definitely prudent for a business to realise and act upon the ability of social bookmarking sites to have the potential to increase traffic to their website and therefore increase the prospect of new clientele.

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45. How Pinterest Can Help Small Businesses

Monday, August 20th, 2012

Pinterest affords it users the ability to pin pictures from any website they are browsing to a virtual pin board. Users can create as many pin boards as they wish and add to each board countless pictures along with a personal description of the image they are adding. Other users of Pinterest can search the site for illustrations of interest to them, comment on them, follow a particular pin board of interest and even re-pin a picture to their own account.

 

So how does this help a small business?

 

Part of the programming built into this site is that when a user pins a picture from a website to a pin board, the website address from where the image came is listed clearly and concisely and there is no option with which to hide to this information.

 

Let’s say Jane Doe is planning her wedding. She can create pin boards for a dress, cake, shoes, jewellery and so forth. As she browses the internet for inspiration and comes across pictures of these items that she likes she can pin them to the specific boards she has created in order that she can peruse them at a later date. Each picture will list the website from where they came so there is no need whilst browsing for Jane Doe to have to remember an address or write lengthy lists.

 

Friends, family and other users of Pinterest can see the pin board Jane Doe has created and they can add comments such as their opinion on the item they are looking at or they can re-pin the picture if it is of interest to them to a board of their own. The website address from where Jane Doe originally obtained the picture will automatically appear on this new board.

 

Not only can a small business rapidly have its products and services visually represented to a high number of prospective clients along with its website address but they can also get feedback about their merchandise by way of the comments that users of Pinterest leave.

 

Pinterest is growing in use on a daily basis to collate information for a number of reasons from planning a wedding to re-decorating a home and is accessible through the most popular social networking sites Facebook and Twitter. Therefore if a business is using the visual side of promoting itself and its products on its website, there is scope to create awareness with many potential clients as people are browsing pin boards within Pinterest and re-posting pictures for their own followers, friends and family.

 

Currently Pinterest is not restricting the way in which a user signs up, therefore both private individuals and businesses can create an account as long as they have a valid email address. However it is worth noting that you cannot simply upload a picture to a pin board from your computer database. Only those images already available on a website can be added, therefore if you wish to create an account for your business you will need to ensure you have a website and that any images you wish to add to a pin board are readily available on your website too.

 

Take some time to view the Digital Ark Pinterest page.  If you would like more details on how social media can help your small business marketing, please visit our website.

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44. Online payments options for small business

Saturday, August 11th, 2012

How we shop has changed considerably since the inception of the Internet and the World Wide Web. We no longer have to shop in-store, as most items we will ever need are now available to order on-line. I love this way of purchasing goods. I no longer have to have the children traipsing alongside me when I shop for things that are of absolutely no interest to them which in turn means I no longer get stressed because they have become bored and I don’t have to put up with constant questions like “Can I have “and “Can we go home yet”.

 

There will always be those items that I will venture into a shop to peruse before purchasing; however; for the most part, I can search different on-line shops, compare prices and even get honest product reviews from those who have purchased before me in the comfort of my own home. Then with little more than a click of a button I get to sit back and relax until the postman rings my doorbell with my new purchase.

 

For many small businesses the thought of what may involved in setting up their website in order to afford their customers the ability shop online may seem daunting and expensive, however; this does not need to be the case. PayPal has no set up or monthly fees and is a cost effective, easy to utilize option that more and more companies are using in order to accept on-line payments from their customers.

 

Setting up a PayPal account is done on-line and is free. Within a matter of minutes a consumers can begin to make purchases and businesses can have a number of “one-click” buttons added to their website. From, buy it now, shopping carts, and gift vouchers to monthly subscriptions there is an option for every consumer need.

 

Credit and debit card payments, bank transfers and email payments are made and received through PayPal without the need of either party having to disclose their banking details and with the security measures PayPal have in place both consumer and merchant can rest assured that every transaction is secure. Payment from one account to another is pretty much instantaneous with PayPal fees only being taken as and when a transaction occurs which are relative to the purchase amount.

 

PayPal offers all its businesses free tools with which to manage and measure their business effectively and consumers a comprehensive history of their transactions. PayPal is one of the leading companies in respect of this type of payment service and they can boast companies such as EBay, iTunes and Toys R Us among their clientele.

 

There are other companies such as PayPoint and SagePay amongst others offering on-line payment options for small businesses, so depending on needs for both consumer and merchant it would be prudent for  any business to research all these companies have to offer in order to ensure the highest quality shopping experience for their clientele.

 

If you would like more details on how you can have a website designed, that is enabled for online payments from only £14.99, please visit our website.

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Posted in Small Business e-Commerce, Small business online | Comments Closed

43. Why a small business should start a blog

Thursday, August 9th, 2012

Ever since Google launched it has had a strong desire to return the best search results to the people using their service.  To achieve this they constantly make updates to their search algorithms (the code that decides what websites to return in the search results).

In April 2012, Google made 2 significant changes named Panda and Penguin.  These changes placed much more emphasise on good quality content being regularly updated on a website.

This presents an issue to the average small business as their websites are typically a couple of pages and static (they don’t get updated that often).  Therefore, in the eyes of Google they do not present a good experience to the person searching, meaning less likely to rank highly in the search results.

Problem

Most small business owners do not have the time or knowledge to regularly update their website.  In many cases they are not able to and any updates means spending money with the website designer.

Solution

A small business owner could start a blog.  There are many very good blogging platforms that are simple to use and do not require a huge amount of technical experience.  A blog will allow a small business owner to post regular content that, depending on quality, would be picked up by Google.

An even smarter move is to write posts on topics that their customers and website visitors will find interesting and provide value.  This will encourage even more visitors.  This in turn is looked on positively by Google and can help the website even more.  It is also possible to include links in your blog post back to the relevant pages on your main website.  Another good way of getting visitors to your main website.

How to Start

While it is possible to start a free blog, I would suggest starting a blog on your current website.  For example, the digital are blog can be found at www.digitalark.co.uk/blog1.  While not proven, Google appears to give benefit to the overall website and not just the blog.

Simple to Set-Up

A good web host, like Digital Ark, should have a solution that allows blog platform software such as WordPress to be installed with a single click.  This means that you could have a blog set-up and your first post published in less than an hour (probably even quicker).

Regular Updates

The big commitment for a small business is to make regular posts.  The best results are where a blog is updated at least once a week.  While this sounds daunting, spending a few weeks getting into a routine will soon turn it into a habit.  Then it should mean that you can create and post an entry in less than 30 minutes.

The articles should ideally be between 400 – 600 words.  Less than 400 can be seen as ‘thin’ content by Google with limited value.  It should not matter if some articles are less than 400, just aim for the majority to be over 400 words.

Remember to include headings and pictures to make the blog easier to read and more visually appealing.

If you make a post each week, over a year you will end up with a lot of content on your blog that should be viewed favourably by Google giving you a best chance of ranking higher in the search results.

Conclusion

Google wants high quality and frequently updated.  Writing a blog offers and excellent way for a small business to provide value to potential customers, engage with their audience and as a by product give Google want it wants!

Don’t delay start your blog now.  If you would like help or more information, please contact us.

 

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