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April 23, 2013

Cloud Opportunities

| Business | No Comments

To say that cloud computing has transformed how we produce, process and distribute business information would be the understatement of the century. While full-scale cloud adoption has had its fair share of challenges making traction with larger scale and smaller companies alike, it’s undeniable that cloud platforms as diverse as DropBox, SalesForce and Skype have made life easier. In company meetings and official business documentation we call this “efficiency,” but that’s exactly what the cloud is about. It takes computing-heavy processes and helps businesses transform them into easily-managed and delivered services.

The Cloud Problem: Small Businesses vs. the Cloud

According to a recent report by IT research analyst firm Freeform Dynamics, roughly 70% of small businesses state they aren’t likely to migrate to the cloud in the near future, and some won’t bother with the cloud integration discussion at all. This is telling in a lot of ways. First and foremost though, it reveals a misunderstanding of how the cloud can be used to benefit their business and boost their bottom line. Let’s investigate some real-world ways the cloud makes life easier, or, “boosts efficiency”.

The Cloud Solution: Efficiency

· Cloud Backup – According to DataLossDB.org, there were upwards of 1500 incidences of major data loss in 2012. Only a few months into 2013, there has already been reported over 350 instances. The bottom line is that you’ll lose data at some point, and your robust security tools won’t make a difference. What matters is what you do in the event of lost data. For small businesses, cloud backups are a cheap and easy solution that allow for simple off-site backup procedures matched with seamless data recovery tools.

· Cloud Storage Solutions – Cloud backup storage is easily the most popular type of cloud-based service out there. It has transformed the way we view data storage. Instead of opting for bigger, better and faster on-premise storage components, we seek out robust cloud storage platforms similar to DropBox, Google Drive and Box.net. While SMBs aren’t eager to fully jump on the cloud bandwagon, they are likely using cloud storage store information to make it more accessible to certain team members.

· Affordability, Scalability, Flexibility, etc – Affordability, scalability and flexibility is at the core of the cloud, and is often overestimated or underestimated, but not rightly understood within the adoption conversations that many businesses are having. The truth is from a cost and scalability perspective, you really only pay for what you use. From there, as your business grows or scales back its needs, you can almost instantly scale up or back your cloud services to meet your needs. This allows you to focus your IT budget on business-specific tools that help grow your business.

SMB Growth through Cloud Services

Whether you’re renting access to applications, or you’re using a cloud-based platform to deliver a more meaningful user experience to your customer base, the cloud can and does make life easier for your business. It allows you to focus on what matters: growing your business.

 

March 28, 2013

Learn from the Best: The Leaders of Web Design

| Business | No Comments

Creating a quality eCommerce site can appear deceptively simple. With just a few images, descriptions and a shopping cart, it is possible to immediately begin selling online. However, with millions of competitors out there, the process of creating a site that customers will actually seek out and use is significantly more challenging.

Top Design Companies just released its list of Best eCommerce Web Design Trends for 2013, where it notes five eCommerce websites that set the bar for what is possible in eCommerce web design. These companies demonstrate how important quality design is, and they give a glimpse of some of the expected web design trends for the coming year.

By taking note of companies that are leading the way in eCommerce web design, and attempting to apply some of the same concepts to their own company websites, business owners can help ensure that their own websites will be competitive.

Top Design Winners

Some of the sites noted by Top Design included Reebok, Sony and clothing retailer Uniqlo. Top Design noted that each excelled at ease of navigation, as well as the clarity of their calls to action.

Reflective of Trends

Recently, Amber Leigh Turner published an article at The Next Web discussing the 10 web design trends expected for 2013. Many of the trends predicted by the writer are already in use by Reebok, Sony and Uniqlo, and are worth taking note of.

Responsive Design

Responsive design refers to creating sites that are viewable across many different devices, sites that are easy to navigate and require little to no resizing. This means users encounter no road blocks when accessing the site from their tablets, desktops or smart phones.

All three of the sites listed above utilize responsive design because it works. For instance, potential customers can quickly view Sony’s newest offerings and make a purchase, regardless of what device they happen to be using.

Large Images for Impact

One of Turner’s predictions for 2013 websites is the use of large, screen-size images for impact. These images can be truly powerful in creating a unique feel for a website.

Consider Reebok’s home page. Most of the initial screen space is taken up with a rotating banner of high-quality photos. Each photo is related to a particular product line Reebok wants to showcase. The images set an undeniable mood, allowing the viewer to feel a little of what it might be like to be trail running, doing yoga or dancing.

As screens increase in size and resolution, large images will only become more useful in setting the tone of a website.

White Space

Another predicted trend for the coming year is the increased use of white space. A white background is surprisingly effective in making product images pop off the screen, especially when those images are high quality.

Clean design continues to be appealing to the majority of consumers. Apple has been riding this wave for years, and customers are still loving it.

Uniqlo uses white space to great effect. When color does appear, either in backgrounds for clothing models or in the clothes themselves, it is set off by the surrounding white space. This creates an emotional response. Potential buyers can feel the impact they might make wearing those same clothes.

Use What Works

Taking note of what works in website design is worthwhile for business owners. Today, every business needs a web presence. Fortunately, businesses do not have to settle for a generic and unappealing site. With the help of a quality web design company, business owners can utilize the design trends that work to help develop a powerful brand, and help encourage the conversions that will come along with it.

 

 

November 16, 2012

The benefits and advantages of professional web design and SEO

| SEO | No Comments

In the recent past it has been proven that more than sensible to publish ads and commercial advertisements all over the real world, even on television. Suddenly with the gradual rise of advertising in the internet it has all of sudden become evident that advertising through the Internet are the best way to go beyond all other forms of marketing and advertising whether it is for a specific service or business or if anyone just want to achieve more notice through his/her own personal website-SEO company. It is one of the best ways to go earlier than anywhere else.

seo-web-design

Search Engine Optimization is an online marketing technique that can provide extremely beneficial outcomes. The positive results of SEO have seen a gradual increase in the several companies, from numerous industries, which are now focused on investing a large amount of the company budget in owning the highest positions in respect of the search engines. Search Engine optimization can also be considered as a sequence of practices which can influence the website’s rank in the search results.

The main aim behind the implementation of an SEO campaign is the improvement in the SEO rankings. The benefits of gaining higher rankings on SEO results pages are that it increases recognition, syndicating the websites to other external web sites.

The standards of the SEO Company dictate that the individual website and its customer come first while choosing SEO Bendigo. Residing in the Bendigo region can be a huge plus side when talking about SEO Bendigo with the aim of advertising a particular website or attracting an audience. But, the problem with it is that one need to exactly know how to attract the majority of the audience. The concept of SEO in the field of marketing is no doubt a very confusing matter that cannot be dealt without the suggestion of an expert SEO company, like Bendigo or something other.

Web design Melbourne associates or SEO Bendigo can help in all sorts of SEO Bendigo needs. It is also very helpful in teaching the fundamentals of website designing, in order to attract the majority portion of the desired audience for whom the website was designed. Websites are a very important part of any business organization. Search engine marketing is arguably considered to be a very cost efficient in comparison to other methods of marketing.

In the world of Internet marketing and online advertising things often becomes a bit hectic and for this reason need to be an independent and strong SEO business behind each and every step to ensure that the business is run in a top quality manner.

Web designing is extremely significant. Once it is done efficiently, it can attract maximum people and can increase the traffic of the website. This can increase the earning of the company. This is the main reason why the companies give great emphasis on hiring efficient expertise web designers. It is the tendency of the society to look at the attractive things and fall in love with them

July 17, 2012

The Major Constituents of Search Engine Marketing

| News, SEO | No Comments

If the online marketing activities were combined and given a single name, then the right name to give them would be ‘Search Engine Marketing’, as most of the online marketing activities are directly or indirectly related to search engines. The search engines are the nucleus of online marketing and all the activities revolve around them.

When it comes to search engine marketing (SEM) there are three major areas of it, and many companies provide services related to these areas of SEM. These areas include, search engine optimization, Pay per click management and social media marketing. The lines below give a detail of these areas of SEM.

1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO):

As the name indicates, this activity is concerned with optimization of a website in the search engine results. The service provider works on applying different techniques that make the website likeable in the eyes of search engines and make the website rank high in response to the particular search query. Some of the methods adopted by SEO service providers to increase the ranking of a website are:

  • By conducting an apt keyword research and finding the most relevant keywords.
  • Adjusting the selected keywords in the content and Meta of the website
  • Designing a search engine friendly website
  • Building content around the selected keywords and propagating it for the purpose of back links.
  • Increasing the number of back links and abiding by all the instructions of search engines to make the website rank high in results.

2. PPC Marketing:

Compared to the organic way of attracting visitors towards a website, the other way in which visitors can be attracted is PPC marketing. PPC is considered a very affective and viable part of SEM campaign. In PPC a business pays search engines to let them have it run its ads in the search results of a particular query. Although apparently simple but the process of PPC marketing is very complicated and requires a professional monitoring the activities of the campaign. A PPC marketing services provider would manage the campaign in the following manner:

  • Selecting the right keywords to bid against so that the ad appears at the best possible position for the particular keyword
  • Setting the right budget for different ads so that maximum ads could be displayed in the total budget of the campaign
  • Writing an attractive ad copy that is persuasive and provokes the user to click on the ad
  • Applying analytics to monitor the conversions and flow of traffic

3. Social Media Marketing:

It is the recent development in SEM. Although, social media marketing is not related with SEM directly, however its relation with search engines is very covert and strong. The activities performed on social media platforms have a strong influence on the above-mentioned to activities. The social media marketing services offered by a company may include:

  • Managing social media profiles
  • Communicating with the customers and clients on social media platforms
  • Developing brand promoting content for profiles

Conclusion:

In short, SEO, PPC and Social media are the major active elements of search engine marketing. A business which wants total search engine dominance should work on all three of these areas.

June 13, 2012
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How SEO is changing small business fortunes

| Business, SEO | No Comments

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a specialized process by which website owners and wed page developers increase the visibility of their page.The aim of SEO is make website among the top ranked page when a random surfer is doing his/her search on the search engine such as Google, Bing, or even Yahoo.

The way most of the search engines are developed, the page with most visitors is ranked earlier and each time the keyword is keyed in those pages appears among the first. Ordinary web designer for a small business may not be well equipped with the necessary knowledge and skillsand the technical know how to optimize his page.

After realizing there is gap in the market for SEO, 123SEO was developed to help the small business. The aim is to remodel their websites and look into ways by which their website can fit the local market as well as the growing international market.

In their line of business, the small business website is promoted by increasing the number of links what is commonly known as backlinks. The website is also edited for keywords which are the main challenge for businesses. The website coding and the protocols developed are also looked into to remove any barriers.

When developing a website, the biggest challenge is the content and how to incorporate the keywords in the site. It is also important that during this process that the SEO firm does not copy the content of another site, rather it should develop its own content. 123SEO is specialized in performing the above task with good customer reputation. The site should be optimized in such a way that it is hard to duplicate the content and if duplicated during the search it should be able to override the other site.

Since they are no international guidelines in SEO it is important that the website plays by rules set by the search engines otherwise the site risk being blacklisted. The main search engine in the world Google is a free site and has very stringent rules if the SEO firm is engaging in malpractice it too risk being blacklisted.

According to experts, any business aiming at increasing their sales should not rely on SEO as a marketing strategy. By the way of operations SEO is aimed at increasing the number of visitors to a particular site. As stated earlier SEO aims at ensuring that the business website contains the right key words that attract visitors.

Australian small businesses should take the opportunity to grow with the changing technology. Customers currently prefer to learn about some product through the internet. As seen SEO is not a way to market a product but a business gains a lot by having their site ranked earlier since thereis a probability of the visitor opening it. 123SEO is firm that is changing the fortunes of small firm that it is dealing with it.

March 16, 2012

How to Make Better Use of Your iPhone

| Gadgets | No Comments

The mobile technology has reached to an amazing extent, ranging from smartphone and “i” series to simple handsets for entertainment and needs, to be catered in one set. Every one desires to have an updated version of the mobile phone and enjoy the luxury of the most advanced mobile technology.

But few of these people use their mobile sets like iPhone to their fullest potential. Other than just entertainment, this phone set can serve many purposes if used effectively. This article can guide you to some simple steps using which you can enjoy the entertainment toy as an efficient tool to make your personal and professional life easier.

How to Make Better Use of Your iPhone

Two lines system: If you are not yet aware then know that your iPhone has this function of facilitating a second line. In this way you can have two numbers being used separately through one phone. Now you can better arrange your personal and professional contacts separately and at your convenience.

Set your Homepage: As you do on your personal computer that the site which you visit most is selected in the homepage of your browser. In the same way, when using your iPhone you can organize your homepage by selecting the app that you use most and drag it to front.

Managing your Web Apps: It usually takes longer if we have files stored at different paths. Your iPhone can give you a service through an iPhone Web app, which will consolidate all your web apps in one program. In this way, you can easily browse and launch the desired web app. This iPhone web app is available in a minimal price in market and you can get it easily for your phone set.

Quick Search Function: With your own mobile phone, it has become very easy to turn to your work any time. If you need to look for some important article and don’t have computer and internet access then stop worrying, as your iPhone will give you a search function. Go to the home tab and double click on it to get the search box, type your search word and select the desired results in no time.

Voice Control Function: It is always unsafe to attend your phone calls while you are driving. If you are on your way to office and have to take important call then don’t stop your car and receive the message. Your iPhone voice control is available with which you can get your calls and listen to your choice music without using your hands.

These features, if used effectively, can make your iPhone the best system of your life. You just need to stay updated with the enhancements that are launched to the OS of iPhones. If you search the web, you can still learn a lot more than I just shared. In reality, the technology covers a whole wonder world which most of us had never tried to explore. So, change your pattern and start using your device in a different way.

This post was brought to you by the Computer Too Slow, a leading source for tech related news, tutorials, and all kinds of helpful advice.

March 14, 2012

Different Surveys Conducted and Their Results Pertaining to Personalized Search

| News, SEO | No Comments

The search engines are always competing with each other to take the best of market share. When it comes to market share, the search engine that is the most accurate and most effective gets the better of the market.

Search engines revolve around user trends and these trends than force the search engines to make changes, which subsequently affects different participants in online marketing processes, whether it be a social media marketing firm, a PPC marketer, or a website developer.

The lines below give a detail of several surveys conducted pertaining to personalized search and different online marketing functions.

1. Authenticity of Search Results:

According to surveys:

  • 91% of the users say that they most of the times or always find the information they are seeking from search engines.
  • 73% of the users believe that the information, which they get from search engines, is trustworthy and accurate.
  • 55% of the users claim that the quality of search results is getting better over time.
  • Only 4% believe that the search results are moving towards worst.

2. Personalization and Tracking:

Personalization and tracking of personal information is another major concern of users. The personalization feature directly impacts the search results; therefore, it also receives mixed responses from users. According to data collected from surveys:

  • 86% percent of users believe that they have learned something new or knowledgeable post the implementation of personalized search.
  • 45% users responded against the personalized search feature, plainly saying that Google should not use information from other sources.
  • 39.1% users liked the idea of personalized search, but were concerned about their privacy.

3. Content Discovery:

According to several survey stats:

  • 41% users say that they receive conflicting information from their personalized search results, because of which distinguishing the right information becomes difficult.
  • After the personalized search becoming active, 31% of the users believe that search results were missing critical information.

Other Facts:

Besides the change in user trends that take place every now and then, there are some general and hard facts about online marketing that cannot be avoided, whether it be personalized or non personalized search.

  • Several data sources show that the investment in online advertising will reach $19billion in 2012, meaning that there will be more business for website link building service providers, PPC marketers, and SEO specialists.
  • E-commerce sales crossed $194billion in 2011, which is 16.1% more compared to 2010.
  • 59% of Americans use search engine daily, where as 73% of Americans use it occasionally.
  • 38% of users responded to surveys by saying that they are overwhelmed by the quantity and quality of information they receive from search engines.

Conclusion:

In short, the personalized search and information tracking has received a mixed response from users, both in terms of its methodology and the results it provides.

February 29, 2012

Clear Your Search History And Keep Your Privacy!

| Business | No Comments

Each of us has a few skeletons in our closet that we sorely want to forget. The last thing that you want when at a life changing moment is your web search history exposed. Your religious inclinations, sexual fetishes, political views, and such like affairs are not issues that you want to share with all and sundry, right? Fret not.

There is a way to circumvent all this. All you need to do is simply master the art of deleting your web search history. Sounds quiet simple and it is, the paragraph below explains how.

Clear Your Search History And Keep Your Privacy!

How to Delete Browser History Quickly

Firsft and foremost, you need to understand that all searches that are performed when you are logged into your Google account are essentially logged into a folder. To erase your footprints this is how you proceed: Go to google.com/ history.

A request to sign into your account will be presented. The second step involves you clicking on to the ‘Remove Web History button’. When you click on to this option, your web history simply vanishes. The entire process takes under a minute to perform. This is how the situation stands up until March 1, this year.

Deleting Selected Pieces of Your Browsing History

If you want to be less dramatic then you can elect to go the way of deleting bits and pieces of your web history. This is the best option for those who do not want to raise suspicions (sic) as to reasons why they have deleted their entire web history. The process involves the following: Go your web history (google.com/history and sign into your account).

Your footprints in the world of the World Wide Web are presented to you, and you simply press the pause button on murky searches and no more details will be conducted on your account.

Upcoming Changes to Google Privacy Policy

The above two options are only possible up until the first day of March this year. Afterwards the search engine entity plans to have a unified privacy policy that will collect all personal details in their ever-increasing folders. The disadvantage of the presence of such a thick folder essentially means that you will need to go through a more rigorous process to delete your web history. This however is viewing the positive side of it. The negative could be that such an excursion could even be almost impossible in the security conscious world that we live in.

However things play out, one thing is certain: There are a few people who would want their search history shared with the world. The issues here touch on a raft of issues- the universal freedoms of access to information, the freedom of self expression, and a whole lot of legal jargon.

The search engine is walking a tightrope with regard to maintaining these freedoms and upholding its obligations as a corporate citizen. However things play out remember that your search for that dream job or even marrying into that blue blood family need not suffer on account of a colorful search history, nay. When in doubt, do the smart thing, press the delete button. It could make all the difference.

This guest post was brought to you by the Computer Too Slow, where you can find lots of free advice to speed up your computer.

February 7, 2012

Optimization of PPC Campaign in the Minimum Time Possible

| Business, SEO | No Comments

The reason which most of the people give of their failure in managing a successful PPC campaign is their inability to give proper time to it. Most people regard PPC is an automated process, and never realize that it requires optimization.

PPC management and optimization of the campaign is simple 30minutes a week process. However to start optimization, first you need to have the following factors right:

  • Properly set the campaign
  • Good ad text
  • Negative keywords research

The lines below give a detail of how you can optimize your PPC campaign on both Search and Display Networks, in the minimum time.

1. Search Campaign:

For a search campaign you need to follow the following steps.

A) Search Query Report Review:

You can do this activity once a week and it would hardly take 5-10 minutes. In the review of search query report, the factors you need to analyze are:

  • The phrases you can add in your ad text
  • The negative keywords you need to keep or remove from your campaign
  • Analyze the keywords on the basis of their impression and cost

B) Keyword Profitability Review:

This activity can be performed once or even twice a week, and would take 10minutes of your time. In this review phase:

  • Check the expensive keywords and make sure that they are generating profit
  • The keywords that aren’t profitable reduce the bids on them.
  • If no keyword generates profit, then you need to check, your landing page, whether you are spending extra, or your keyword has a tough competition.

C) Ad Variations Test:

The activity will hardly take 10minutes, and you need to do it every other week or so. The reason why it’s done after every two weeks is that small business campaigns won’t get that much data in one week to make a decision on it. In this phase, you can test different ad copies for winning and losing ads.

2. Display Campaigns:

For an internet marketing display campaign, following steps should be considered:

A) Review Placements– Taking 10minutes of your time, and done once a week, in this phase, you check the automatic placements. See the ones that exceed your CPL goals, and add them to campaign, and back off on those, which are costing you more.

B) Ad Variations Test– Same as for Search campaigns, you need to do this activity every other week, and it would take 10 minutes. The whole process is same as Search campaign; the only thing, you need to do is to emphasis in ad text writing and make it as creative and propositional as possible.

Conclusion:

In short, with the detail mentioned above, the ‘no time’ would no more be an excuse for you to optimize your campaign. The above mentioned activities take the minimum time you can give to your campaign.