You could call this an advertorial. Maybe it is but it’s also fact:

When we build a new website, even if you don’t commission us to help with your ongoing SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), we will optimise your site for search.

This isn’t us giving you something for free. This is just us being professional and doing a fantastic job with the code, content and pictures that make up your sexy new website.

We lovingly handcraft gorgeous code – Google will fancy you rotten.

If other web designers don’t give you this service or want you to pay through the nose for it give us a call. Seriously… don’t muck about – 01793 554900.

If you think that your business doesn’t need to use social media or that it doesn’t even need a website then the following video from the clever and talented people at Socialnomics is going to make you really uncomfortable. Er… sorry.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQZAmr_-WVI

Still, not to worry; getting your company in front of some of these people isn’t rocket science. Here’s an easy to follow plan:-

• Decide what you want to achieve
• Get yourself a well designed and coded website (get it right and your site can grow and evolve with your business)
• Make sure you have some analytics installed on it (putting your efforts into your online channel is pointless unless you can measure the results)
• Write an online marketing strategy (a medium to long term plan that will make sure that you do everything for a reason -- you can tweak it as you go along)
• Learn how to use the right tools so that you’re not wasting time but make sure that you devote some time to this.

Finally some free of charge top tips (are we mad* or are we the kind of people you want to work with?):

Top tip #1: Find somebody in your organisation who is using Twitter, Facebook or maybe writing a blog and make them your social media ambassador. Give them some clear guidelines and a little time everyday and they’ll love you for it.

Top tip #2: We can help. Engage Ursus Media to design and build the perfect website for you and then let us help you join up all the elements of the what is now a very social web.

*Not mad. Absolutely the people you want to work with.

I was recently asked by a client ‘what’s the difference between you and them?’ and they referred me to one of these big ‘off the shelf’, design shop websites.

Good question. This big design shop had lot’s of lovely looking sites in it’s portfolio, a very slick website (not to my taste but pretty slick) and some very, very good offers. They even gave away lots of free stuff with every commission. If you’re in the market for a new website this kind of thing is hugely attractive.

I know from experience that there’s almost always something hiding behind a shiny website with unbeatable offers that means money for old rope to the people that invest in their ‘expertise’. A little investigation proved me right.

But rather than pointing fingers and criticizing I’m going to give you the tools to find out exactly what you get for your money. This is just a list of questions that you can ask anyone in the digital media industry whether they’re multi-million pound digital media agencies or pimply faced youths beavering away in their bedrooms (and some of them are very good).

So 7 questions to ask before you commission a web designer:

1. Are your sites made with ‘tables’?
   Tables are part of the code that a website is made from. They’re fine for things like price lists or time-tables and once upon a time most sites were made this way. Now though it’s bad practice and usually means that search engines like Google can struggle to see the content of the page. This is fundamental to a websites performance in search results. Generally developers creating websites using tables are cutting corners. It’s like buying a lovely new car with no engine – there’s no disputing it’s a car but let’s be honest: it’s performance is going to be limited.
2. Are your websites standards compliant?
   This leads on from question one and frankly if that doesn’t set of alarm bells this one will. There are industry standards for website design and development and every organisation developing and designing websites should aim to comply. The risk is that you will end up with a site that may not be indexed by Google and may not be available to all of your potential customers. At worst you could find yourself in hot water with the law as there are moves afoot in the UK to ensure that all websites are accessible to a minimum standard. At the very least ask if they:
   - Use CSS to seperate code and content
   - Validate their sites with the relevant tools
   At the bottom of our website you’ll see two little icons with ticks next to them. This means that our site validates for both code and CSS.
3. What do you mean by SEO?
   Search Engine Optimisation is a process by which the performance of a website on search engines such as Google is improved. This is a gradual and ongoing process that will push a site up the rankings with measured and careful changes to the code and content of your website. Some people will claim to provide free SEO with a new website – make sure you know exactly what this means. We optimise every site that we build so that it can be quickly and easily indexed by all of the search engines and we see this as simple best practice.
4. Is that really free?
   Let’s get one thing straight – there is no such thing as free. Sorry but that’s just the way it is. What free really means is ‘included’. That’s ok. It’s marketing speak. We’re all used to it. If things are included or ‘free’ that’s fine but you should find out where they’ve made savings. We occasionally run package offers and include lots of things in the price but we don’t work for free. We will build down to a price but we won’t sacrifice our standards so what it means is that some features and functionality that you might want right now will have to wait until your budget catches up with your ambitions – which brings me to next question.
5. Is it scaleable?
   If you’re a new business your budget will be limited – for now. Before you commission a new website ask if it can grow with your business. Can your web designer add additional pages and functionality to the site that they make for you without having to start again or make huge changes to your existing site? Can they refresh the overall look and feel of your site regularly so that it’s the best shop front your business can possibly have now and into the future.
6. What secondary services do you offer?
   It’s important to know whether or not your web developer has the necessary skills and resources available to help you make the most of your online presence. Find out if they can provide some or all of the following:
   - Support
   - Online marketing
   - Social media marketing
   - Training
   - Search Engine Optimisation
   - Copywriting
   You may not need these additional services now but the chances are you will in the future. Discussing these things will also give a good feel for the overall skillset of the company you’re talking to.
7. How will you ensure that my site is delivered on time?
   How do they manage projects? If the company you’re talking to can’t deliver work to you on time they’re no use to you. It doesn’t matter how cheap they are. For example we use an agile project management process call Scrum. This means that we deliver projects on time and communicate with you regularly. You’ll know exactly what’s going on every step of the way and when we need something from you (images or text perhaps), we’ll prompt you.

I hope this doesn’t sound too much like some sort of ‘infommercial’. There are many great companies out there creating stunning websites but at the same time there people who give a great first impression that just doesn’t stack up when they’ve got your money. Shop around, ask these questions, decide whether or not you like the person you’re dealing with and only when you’re completely happy should you commission them.

Ultimately that old chestnut still rings true: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

If you need any help with your web project please feel free to get in touch with us. Whatever your plans we’ll provide you with a free, no obligation quote.

Unless you’ve been swanning around on another planet (and if you have, welcome back), you’ll have heard of Twitter. I guarantee your customers have heard of it.

Twitter is a social networking tool that effectively allows for small talk on the web. Using it has been likened to being at a cocktail party full of interesting people, all of whom are happy for you to introduce yourself and have a chat. They’re at the party themselves because they’d like to chat to someone they find interesting and so on and so forth.

On the face of it, it’s a pretty frivolous idea but people are doing exactly what they do at parties. Some of them have a laugh, some of them are silly, some of them are sharing great ideas and some of them are networking.

It has the potential to help you open dialogues with customers on their terms and is at the same time an effective marketing and customer care tool. But you have to get it right.

DON’T PANIC

Let’s deal with the marketing value of Twitter first and I’ll revisit the customer care aspect in a later post. There are lots of people and organisations using it to sell products and services and increase brand awareness. Inevitably some are good and some are bad.

If you use Twitter in the right way you will have an open, welcoming and visibly growing audience at your finger tips, providing you with constant, quality feedback and helping you spread the word about your business.

If you get it wrong you have the potential to alienate millions of people who between them have a massive web presence.

again DON’T PANIC

Although you can get it wrong it’s quite hard to do. You have to remember that Twitter is a conversation. As soon as you try and broadcast, unless you have a genuinely useful stream of information, people will tune out and they’re gone. This is a simple and (at least for the moment), free way to engage with millions of people. The key word here is engage; announcement after announcement about how great you are won’t work. No matter how great you are.

So what you need is a strategy. Ideally you already have a social media strategy, perhaps as part of a wider marketing strategy, which will outline your approach to the various social networking sites. If you don’t, don’t worry, you can hire us to write it for you.

I’m not going to write a strategy for you here; partly because we do this for a living and like to get paid for our work and partly because I don’t know anything about your brand or organisation. That’s no reason for you not do dip your toe in the ‘twittersphere’ so here are seven completely free tips for you to try:

1. Twitter is free but not effortless: You will get out of it at least as much as you put in but you need to devote some time and therefore resource to it.
2. Think about the tone of voice for your tweets: Twitter is informal but it’s not generally rude and it’s like (I know I’ve said it before) being at a party. It’s a party with your customers or people who know your customers. They’re enjoying the witty banter but they are paying attention and they will remember that they’re your customers so you must too.
3. Share: Twitter is a community which means people share things. Share information with others. If you add a web page, write a blog post or even just stumble across a piece of news (even vaguely) related to your sector, share by tweeting a link. Comment on it if you like but share it.
4. Follow people: You don’t have to wait for people to follow you before you can follow them. Work out if they’re a customer, a potential customer or in a related field and follow them. Say hello at the same time – it’s only polite.
5. If someone follows you, follow them back: They’ve voluntarily engaged with you so you should return the favour. There are tools available which allow you to do this automatically but I’d suggest that you check that they’re real and that they engage with other real people. I’m proud to say that I’ve been followed by Barack Obama (I’ve still got the email to prove it) and although I know it was probably automatic, I’ll choose to believe that he followed me because I’m cool.
6. Talk to people: This is all about the conversation. You must engage with people and try and answer every question. If someone asks for your opinion and you feel it’s relevant and appropriate give it. If you can’t answer a question, for whatever reason, don’t be afraid to say so or to suggest an appropriate alternative.
7. Ask for things: If you want to know something – a bit of impromptu market research for example ask people, need bit of testing of a new product or service – ask. This is part of the give and take of a community.

If you want to try Twitter you’re welcome to start by following us – just remember to say hello and mention that you read this post.

If you want to learn more about using Twitter for business Ursus Media run courses to help you get it right first time. We’ll help with your accounts and provide all the necessary tools and instruction to ensure that you and your team can use Twitter efficiently and effectively. Just give us a call or drop us a line.

Even in this, the internet age, is it a given that every business needs a website?
The simple answer is yes. Sorry; were you expecting something else?

I suppose that you want me to quantify my answer with good clear reasons. After all someone from a company that designs and develops websites is bound to say that.

1. The internet is a global shop window
   Unless you’re very lucky you’re facing competition from all directions. A good website can extend your reach to anyone with a computer, anywhere in the world, immediately. They can see who you are, what you do and how you do it instantly. They can then make contact and interact with you all the while marvelling at how you’re absolutely the right people for the job.
2. Communicate with your customers and clients
   I guarantee that most of your customers are already online. Perhaps they do business online, their banking perhaps; how many people do you know that have book a holiday online or ordered Christmas presents from Amazon? The web is an easy way to communicate effortlessly with your customers. Encourage them to get in touch with you. Get them to talk to you.
3. Open yourself up to new opportunities
   You can open up your business to opportunities that you didn’t know existed until you got online and your shiny new customers from around the world got in touch. £3.8bn is spent online in Britain alone every month and some of that could be yours.
4. Learn from the people on your site
   At the risk of making myself sound incredibly dull, I love the data that websites can provide. You can get an understanding of what people want and need, not just from what they say but from what they do. The data that you can gather from users of your website is empirical. You can adapt your website quickly and cost effectively based on real evidence as opposed to ‘gut feelings’. I know of a very famous online DVD rental company that increased sales by 10% overnight by changing two simple things on its website. The decision to do that was based on good hard data.
5. Catch up with your competition
   Not a good enough reason on its own but I bet the competition are online. If they use their website effectively they’ll be picking up business from your potential clients. Don’t let them get away with it. Remember too that the web levels the playing field – you get the same access to the same clients as anyone else online.
6. Work around the clock every day of the year
   Your website will work hard for you (at least it will if we build it), long after every other member of staff has gone home. If you sell online you can look forward to coming into work in the mornings and flicking though a pile of orders from around the world as you enjoy a nice hot cup of coffee.
7. Save lots of money
   I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. The web is the most cost effective way of marketing and selling that there is. Do it properly and your website will make far more for you than it will cost. Don’t cut corners though or it’ll just be a white elephant with the name of your business painted on the side. The internet is complex and clever so hire a professional whose job it is to deliver value for money.
8. Free advertising
   Your website is the perfect place to advertise. If you have a good flow of traffic you can tell people about new products and services, sales and special offers. You can even let them send information to their friends directly from your website. Remember your reach is global and constant so make the most of it.
9. Portray the perfect image for your business all the time
   Keep your website up to date (little and often is the key here) and you can update your image and develop your brand continuously. The web is by far the most cost effective way to show people who you are and what you stand for.
10. If you think you’re so great – prove it
    Show people how great you are. Show them why your cheese is better than Sainsbury’s, why you can deliver better service than the other dry cleaners up the road, why your widget costs twice as much as your competitors. Sometimes you need to show what goes on behind the scenes in order to make people appreciate just what a great company you are. Make people comfortable with who you are and tell them exactly why they should buy your product or service and they probably will.

So there you are: 10 good reasons why you need a website. And 10 equally good reasons to give us a call and get our help to grow your business online.

Related items:

• 7 Questions to ask your web developer
• Special offer

Spending our days working on the internet we deal with a lot of businesses online and sometimes we’re left feeling a little cynical and thinking ‘wow… you could really do with our help’.

Every so often though we find a company that operates so well online we’re left speechless and wondering why every online business isn’t that good.

Kiddicare is just such a business. We haven’t been involved in any part of their operation but when we see something done really well we’ll talk about it here. Although the Kiddicare website leaves a little bit to be desired (in my opinion) it does work and the entire process from finding the right product to despatching the items right through to delivery and, in fact, beyond is superb.

The story unfolds below:

1. Monday 25th January 2010 at 10:15pm: Order placed. Email order confirmation recieved immediately.
2. Tuesday 26th January 2010 at 7:15pm: Text confirmation (not email), stating that the goods had been despatched and would be delivered the next day.
3. Tuesday 26th January 2010 at 7:20pm:  Email confirmation as above.
4. Wednesday 27th January at 8:26am: Email received stating that the order was out for delivery. A tracking code was included so that we could keep an eye on it ourselves.
5. Wednesday 27th January 2010 at 8:26am: Text confirmation that the order was on the couriers van. This included an option for changing the delivery day simply by replying to the text message.
6. Wednesday 27th January 2010 at 9:05am: Online tracking stated that delivery would be with us in a one hour slot between 12:22pm and 1:22pm.
7. Wednesday 27th January 2010 at 12:42pm: Order arrives at home in Swindon, complete and in perfect condition.

So can you see why this was such a great experience? It’s not because the order was delivered the next day. It’s not because they were the cheapest supplier. Dealing with Kiddicare was a great experience simply because their communication to us, the customer, was superb. They’ve joined the whole process up from order to delivery and they keep the customer informed at every stage.

So if you’d like to be as good as Kiddicare and would like some help with eCommerce or online marketing; feel free to get in touch with us.

Analysis of the traffic on your website goes way beyond the simple counting of ‘hits’. Analytics gives you a real understanding of how people are using your website, what they’re doing once they arrive and where they came from. You can see conversion rates, work out what works and what doesn’t for your site and even work out the value of each visit.

A good analytics package will help you to give your customers what they want, improve your website, get more for your marketing spend and increase revenue because of the business insights it can deliver.

There are lots of great analytics packages available to you and by happy coincidence one of the best, Google Analytics, is free. Don’t be mislead by the word free, there are some very big businesses using Google Analytics every day. I have experience of using it on a site with an average of 750,000 visitors per month and I use it here on the Ursus Media website because it’s such a powerful tool. You should bear in mind that although a Google Analytics account is free your developers will charge you for the time required to set up the account and implement the code on your website.

The following video from Google gives a quick overview of interpreting and using the data from Google Analytics. Most packages deliver similar metrics so although this is Google specific it’s easy to relate to other tools.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hdsb_uH2yPU

Google Analytics is a superb tool and it never fails to surprise me that it’s free (although there are some exceptions -- see Google’s T&Cs). There are of course other tools available to you but but they all give you similar information and the insights for your business should not be underestimated. This is only the beginning.

Useful resources

• Ursus Media courses
• Wikipedia on web analytics
• Technorati on web analytics
• Google Analytics

Ok, let’s start with the basics.
Terms like Web 2.0 and the Semantic Web are regularly bandied around by ‘web gurus’, but for us mere mortals what do they actually mean?

Web 1.0 is in fact just the web. It’s a term that’s only been in common use since the term Web 2.0 was used by Tim O’Reilly to describe a step change in the way in which people and organisations are using the web rather than a new version of the internet. Technologies have grown up to facilitate this and take advantage of it but you should really just think of it as the natural evolution of the internet and the ways in which people use it.

Sadly for those of you hankering after a return to the black ash and chrome of the ‘80s Web 2.0 doesn’t mean a black background and ‘glassy’ buttons for your website. Users of the internet had always used it to communicate with each other but over time they started to do something else. People started to share information, to collaborate not just with one other person but with lots of people. Developers and designers responded to this by building and designing websites that made this easier, faster and in some cases more entertaining.

So a Web 2.0 site allows its users not just to read content but to interact with each other and even provide content. Right now you are looking at the Web 2.0 element of the Ursus Media website. I’ve provided content to you, you can comment on what I’ve written (the box right at the bottom of the page), other readers can comment on what you’ve written and suddenly there’s a whole new conversation going on.

I think the following video from the nice people at notinwords.com describes it really well:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bc0oDIEbYFc

Web 3.0, more commonly called the Semantic Web, again describes a natural evolution of the internet. This is where as well as millions of people linking together in lots of different ways; all the billions upon billions of pieces of information and devices will be linked together as well.

Things like search will be revolutionised, shopping, communicating, learning; in fact just about everything will change. The web will be more efficient and more useful. If you think the internet is a great resource now, just you wait.

Currently information is brought to you online because its content and code is seen by applications such as search engines. As the Semantic Web evolves not only will the search engines see this content and code they will also understand its meaning, intention and relationship to other pieces of information.

In this next video thought leaders STI International describe in more detail the Semantic web:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=off08As3siM

Hopefully between me, notinwords.com and STI International we’ve managed to give you a good idea of what these things mean.

If you still have any questions about the different flavours of web I’d encourage you to leave a comment and then I can reply and so can the wider web community (very Web 2.0) or you can simply email me and I’ll do my best to help.

What this all means for your business and how you can take advantage of the ever changing web will be the subject of future posts. If you want to keep up, you might want to subscribe.

Remember if you have a project coming up: anything from a new website to some help with a social media strategy, we’d love to help.  Contact us and we can talk it through.