Online marketing and web design blog

Five Steps to Building A Website

Web design, Web Development
When building a website from scratch, there are five steps to follow: 1. What’s the game plan? Why do you want a website? This is the most important question. Is it business-focused or information-focused? What do you want the site to accomplish? Who’s going to come to the site? Why…

Mobile Friendly Websites

SEO, Web design, Web Development
The growth of mobile users and Mobilegeddon.
Mobilegeddon: Will your website disappear if it’s not mobile friendly? Last month Google rolled out its new SEO changes in which mobile search list preference is given to websites that are mobile friendly. So what does that mean for your website’s SEO scores? Will your website vanish off the face…

Surviving Mobilegeddon

SEO, Web design, Web Development
Mobile phone and tablets for connecting online.
In the wake of Mobilegeddon websites have had to either adjust to suit Google’s new SEO algorithms, or face a loss of online business. There are some easy steps you can follow to make sure your site works with the new SEO criteria. BEFORE YOU START! Test your website to…

Better Direct Mail Campaigns

Sales and Marketing
Direct mail marketing campaigns.
Though the Internet has replaced a lot of print advertising, direct mail campaigns are still proven to be a useful tool for reaching out to your audience. Direct mail, which is any type of advertising where marketers send postcards, letters, or catalogs through postal mail, are an amazing way to…

Does your Business need a Mobile App?

Sales and Marketing
Mobile apps, creating another marketing channel for your business.
There is a new way customers are interacting with businesses—through a mobile app. Contrary to what some may believe, an app isn’t just a small website for a mobile device. It’s actually a program that runs on a mobile device, such as an iPhone or Android. The difference between a…

The importance of customer satisfaction

Sales and Marketing
The importance of customer satisfaction.
The Key to Exceeding Customer’s Expectations. One of the best sales tools is through customer service. How satisfied your customers are is important and can either make or break you. Each customer you lose is hurting you hundreds of dollars. The solution to retaining customers isn’t to just meet their…

Branding strategy

Sales and Marketing
Building your branding strategy.
Strategies to Cultivate your Brand. We live in a brand-saturated world. From the moment we wake up until we go to bed, we are surrounded by brands. How then, is you company meant to stand out? Whether you are just starting your business or you’ve been in the industry for…

Choosing the right web developer

Web design, Web Development
Choosing the right web developer, website designer.
What to keep in mind. Vital things to keep in mind for choosing the right web developer or website design company. After scouring the web and finding the three websites that you really love the look of (and the three you gag at the sight of) as examples of what…

Social Media Hubs – what the heck are they ?

Social Media
Social media hubs.
Social Media Hubs: What are they, and why you want them. With the plethora of social media channels in operation, it’s becoming more and more practical to consolidate all of your social media channels into one aggregated site branded to your organisation, pulling feeds from a single post, or all…

Social media trends 2015

Sales and Marketing, Social Media
Hot social media trends 2015.
Social Media Trends to Look for in 2015. 2015 is fast approaching, and your business needs to be ready for any upcoming social media trends. Being prepared will help you plan your company’s social media marketing strategy and put you ahead of your competition. Find out what social media trends…

Do you want to be liked?

Social Media
Be liked. Get more likes, more shares, more re-posts!
Grow your social media base: Get more likes, more shares, more re-posts! Social Media the 4-1-1 rule. Andrew Davis, author of Brandscaping: Unleashing the Power of Partnership, has laid out this rule to create engaging content: For every 6 pieces of content shared via any given channel Four should be…

Semble mobile payments

E-commerce
semble mobile payments.
Introducing Semble: The Mobile Wallet Phone App. Imagine not ever having to carry a wallet again. The days of needing cash to pay for the bus and cleaning out the stack of receipts could be coming to an end. That’s the goal of Semble, the Kiwi made phone app made…

Getting the best from Google plus

SEO, Social Media
Google plus for social media marketing.
Google Plus With Google Plus being attached to the many arms of the Google Universe and has a direct link to Google ranking and SEO, it would be a bad idea not to make the most of it for your website marketing ventures. Company Overview Update your About section with…

New Zealand domain changes

Domains
New Zealand domain name changes.
New Zealand domain name change: What this means for you. You will (or may already have) start noticing a change in how domain names look. As of 30 September, the existing second-level domain names are now optional. People have the choice to either register with, without, or both. In other…

Building online shopping sites

E-commerce, Web Development
Online shopping, sales and marketing for website owners.
Perfection in an e-Commerce Site. You have the business model, you have the product, you know who your target market is, now you need the website. This is our guide to building great online shopping sites. Usability The first thing you need to keep in the absolute top of mind…

CMS Options, What’s out there?

Content Management System
CMS options. Choosing the right website development tools.
CMS Options: The best choices. If you want a content management system that’s going to facilitate your content creation and control on the web, it pays to shop around. These are four of the best free-to-use sites on the web today. WordPress. Blessed with a usability interface that makes it…

DIY optons for free websites

Web design, Web Development
Wix web design software.
Free websites and DIY choices Making your own website can be a lot of fun and a cost-effective way to have your name on the internet, whether it’s for a home business, or even if it’s just a single page for a hobby or family website. There are a few…

why online reviews are so powerful

Sales and Marketing, SEO
Online reviews and reputation management.
The Power of Online Reviews: Building a Good Online Reputation. It’s important as a business to build a great online reputation. Since more people are shopping online, both negative and positive reviews can have a direct influence on their purchasing decisions. Monitoring your brand image online should be apart of…

Using Pinterest for Marketing

Sales and Marketing, SEO, Social Media
Using pinterest for social media marketing.
How to use Pinterest for Marketing. Since Internet users prefer to consume online information through visuals, your business needs a marketing strategy that will incorporate images. One solution to capture an audience with short attention spans is through Pinterest. It’s a site that is image centric filled with an audience…

Avoiding the pitfalls – marketing mistakes to avoid

Sales and Marketing
Avoiding business mistakes in sales and marketing.
The Five Marketing Mistakes Every Small Business Should Avoid. Marketing is essential for any business–no matter how small or large your company is. Doing it right can lead to great success, but doing it all wrong can lead to a disaster. If you’re a small business looking for ways to…

Grow your business through linkedin.

Sales and Marketing, SEO, Social Media
Linkedin social media network for business.
Five Tips on Growing Your Business Through LinkedIn. LinkedIn has hit over 300 million users, and it’s continuing to grow. Compared to other networks, LinkedIn is a social media channel for business professionals. It’s a place where people can network, find jobs, and even grow their business. If used correctly,…

What’s next after Google Authorship

Social Media
Writing authorship and online content creation.
What Happens Next With the end of Google Authorship? As of 29th August, the three-year experiment called Google Authorship has come to an end. If you weren’t aware of Google Authorship, it was a program that allowed authors of web content to identify themselves with a digital signature. Many webmasters…

Online selling with the Facebook buy button

Sales and Marketing, Social Media
Facebook buy button.
Facebook Introduces the Buy Button. Facebook is in the works of making it even easier for customer to shop online. The social networking site has started testing a Buy Button, which will let users instantly pay for a product from other merchants without ever leaving the site. Many business owners…

Using Social Media Hubs

Sales and Marketing
Social media hubs, marketing connections for business.
Tell Your Business Story Using Social Media Hubs Social media hubs are an excellent way to update a business website that may not seem relevant in the time of social media. They can help increase customer interaction and keep your customers updated on what’s happening with your business. What are…

Be innovative, be interesting, or be extinct.

Sales and Marketing
Great ideas for innovation and competitive advantage.
Creative business marketing Be innovative, be interesting, or be extinct – why utilising your organisation’s creativity will keep it alive in today’s market. The consumer is a fickle mistress, so you have to be one step ahead of the pack to catch the public eye and hold its attention. If…

Harnessing Social Media

Sales and Marketing
Connecting people with social media and boosting your website marketing.
Who are you online? Because more people doing online research about an organisation before engaging, having a vibrant social media presence is vital in today’s market. But which platform is best? The four main platforms in New Zealand are LinkedIn, Twitter, Google Plus, and Facebook, with most organisations have a…

Branding success – the rules of four.

Sales and Marketing
The power of company branding for your business.
Branding: How to make your mark. When orchestrating your brand there are many things to consider. Your brand is, in essence, your organisation’s identity in the world, so great care at all steps of the branding process must be taken. Your brand must convey positive connotations in whichever field you…

Promoting with Google+

SEO, Social Media
Google+ social network, connect with your circles.
How to Promote your Business with Google+ Google+ is on its way to becoming the next powerful social media network, which is why you should create a page for your business now. It offers more than what the other social media networks can. If you’re looking for an inexpensive marketing…

Boosting your site with great web content

Sales and Marketing, Website content
Content is king, good quality content is the number one factor for success.
How to Write Great Web Content for Users and Search Engines Both users and search engines love fresh, high quality web content. Writing excellent copy on your site is guaranteed to generate searches, and get users clicking on your web page. If you aren’t a confident writer, don’t worry. It…

Being upfront with your website prices

Sales and Marketing
Money, marketing and online sales strategies.
Pricing on your website, your marketing strategy Imagine yourself going to a supermarket, but there were no prices on any of the items. You’d be pretty frustrated as a customer. There seems to be an ongoing debate among business owners whether you should disclose this information or not. No matter…

Effective Domain Names

Sales and Marketing, Web design
Choosing the right domain name for your New Zealand business.
The Basics to Having an Effective Domain Name Having an effective domain name is key to having a successful website for your business. If you don’t have a compelling domain name, it’s going to be difficult for customers to find you. If you’re in the beginning stages of creating a…

Facebook Mojo for Social Media Marketing

Sales and Marketing, Social Media
The facebook like thumbs up.
Likes, Comments and Shares: How to Earn Facebook Mojo. Facebook has more than 1.28 billion active users. The little blue box with the white F is everywhere, and everybody’s on Facebook. There’s no doubt that the world’s most popular social network should be an important part of your social media…

Your website’s front page essentials

Web design, Web Development
Designing high impact pages for your website, that promote your online business.
Things That Should be on Your Website’s Front Page The front page of your website is critical. It’s a page that will likely gain the most traffic because it’s the starting point of your website. You need to have certain things on your front page to make a great first…

SEO Tools

SEO
Google webmaster tools for website SEO.
Five Tools to Make SEO Easy for You If you do a search on SEO tools, hundreds of results will show up. It almost seems overwhelming to figure out what would be best for your website. Are you searching for a tool to help improve your keyword results? Do you…

SEO Rules

SEO
Using keywords for optimising you web pages.
Six SEO Rules to Achieve Front-Page Status As a website owner, it’s important for your site to get on the first page of a search engine’s organic (not paid) results. But what can you do to achieve front-page status? By learning what the rules of SEO are, and how you…

Creating engaging landing pages

Sales and Marketing, SEO, Web design
Creative writing for website blog posts.
How You Can Build an Engaging Landing Page Making an engaging landing page can create dynamic results for your website. Many people might think a landing page is simply their home page. However, this is actually not the case. A landing page is what a prospect clicks on through either…

Building Website Traffic

Sales and Marketing, SEO, Social Media
Boost business sales with good website design.
Have Quality Content. First and foremost identify your target audience and give them interesting quality content refreshed on a regular basis, preferably daily. Offer a blend of punchy, short and sweet articles with longer reads, news with best practice articles. If you blog, which you should, blog at least once…

Creating better facebook pages

Sales and Marketing, Social Media
Facebook user like for business pages.
How to build a great facebook page for business Creating a Facebook page is a wonderful marketing tool for your retail company or business. By making a Facebook page, you will generate traffic, connect with your customers, and be easily found through search engines. Here are some great tips on…

Do you need Responsive Web Design

Web design, Web Development
Wordpress web design template. Responsive web development, designed for multiple devices.
Web design for different devices In a world where everyone is connected online through a variety of devices, how do we offer a great experience no matter how users view our site. Enter “Responsive Web Design”. From a small start in 2010, responsive web design has become a must have…

User friendly website designs

SEO, Web design, Web Development
Planning the layout of your web pages for user friendly designs.
Designing a user friendly website When a user visits a website, they make their decision whether they will stay or leave your site in three seconds. This means you have to capture their attention quickly. One thing to consider is the design and layout of your website. A website that…

Promoting your website with twitter

Sales and Marketing, SEO, Social Media
Twitter social media for promoting your business
Three ways use can use Twitter to promote your site If you have recently set up a website, the next thing you’ll want to do is to gain an audience. A great way to promote your website is through the social media site, Twitter. Twitter is unique because it’s intended…

Website hosting options in New Zealand

Website Hosting
Website hosting and server support services
New Zealand website hosting options ( plus Some personal experience of hosting companies ) Hostme Hostme was slightly above average hosting supplier a few years ago, with good support. However Hostme hasn’t moved with the times and still offers small packages for the money. More worrying is that over the…

Hiring a web developer for your website

Web Development
Hiring a web developer, Selecting the right one.
Tips for Hiring a Web Developer An alternative to buying web design services is to bring the development in-house. Hiring a web developer can be a big challenge, but having one on your team has some advantages. Web developers create, maintain, and program websites to ensure that they work properly.…

Outsourcing web development

Web Development
Online development and web design outsourcing.
Outsourcing web development Outsourcing your development to India or China can save you a lot of money, however there are some pitfalls and things to be aware of. making your outsourced development a success. 1) Be prepared to spend more time overseeing the project. 2) Be very clear on what…

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