Setting up a Google Business Profile (previously called Google My Business) is one of the most effective ways to improve your local SEO presence. A well-optimised profile can boost your visibility in local search results and Google Maps, making it easier for customers to find and contact your business. It’s particularly important if your business’… Read More
DKIM, DMARC & SPF: What are they and how do you use them?
Email was never intended to be what it is. It’s grown beyond the inventor’s wildest vision. As a result, when the developers built the system that ran email, they did so with very little in the way of security: There was no way of checking a senders identity – mainly because the developers couldn’t envisage… Read More
Setting Up a Website: The Ultimate Beginners Guide
If you’re launching your own business, one of the biggest jobs that you’ll likely tackle will be setting up a website. For most people, this can seem pretty intimidating. Lots of choices to make, conflicting advice, and plenty of ways to get fleeced along the way – as well as a healthy amount of techy… Read More
What colour should my buttons be?
I’ve made passing reference in a couple of blog posts over the last few months about the colour of call to action buttons on pages. These buttons are a topic that many in the world of websites seem to obsess over. What size should they be, what shape should they be and, most importantly, what… Read More
5 questions you should ask your web design company before you hire them
Finding a decent web designer is a tricky business. A new website is a huge investment of your time and money, and getting a site that delivers for you can make a massive impact on your business. There are thousands of companies out there offering to create your new website for you, so how do… Read More
6 ways to do conversion optimisation without traffic
Everyone who’s anyone in the internet industry will tell you that if you want to improve your website’s conversion rate, you should be AB testing. Just in case you hadn’t heard of it (or indeed have, but not actually had time to work out what it was), AB testing is the practice of creating two… Read More
How to get more from your user testing
It’s generally acknowledged that user testing is absolutely key to improving the performance of your website – even if not everybody actually get around to doing it. After all, whatever you might think, you are not a user – you lack perspective and bring an incredible amount of baggage to viewing your own website: You… Read More
Website Nightmares: 12 horrors you should avoid on your website
Given All Hallow’s Eve is upon us, I thought I’d take the opportunity to share some of the website faux-pas that really horrify me. I’ve tried to focus on the mistakes that websites make that cost them: whether actual hard money, or just the goodwill of their users, but admit that the odd personal grudge may have crept… Read More
Your DNS: Why you need to rule your domain
Here’s a couple of quick questions for you: Do you have control of your web domain? And do you know the password for it? If you can definitively answer ‘yes’ to both of these then great – go and make yourself a nice cup of tea and relax. If the answer’s ‘no’, or ‘I’m not sure’,… Read More
How to recover your web domain
Ensuring you’ve got real ownership of your web domain (the www address that you type into a browser to get to your website) is a task that’s likely to save a huge amount of time, hassle and cost in the long run. Without that ownership, you’re at risk of suffering severe outages to your website… Read More
6 Rules for Successful Conversion Rate Optimisation
More and more businesses are finding that Conversion Rate Optimisation is one of the biggest weapons in their armoury when it comes to growing revenue. We’ve set out six rules to follow if you’re going get the best results: 1. Measure it No matter what else you do, making sure you understand what’s happening on… Read More
Countdown Timers – A quick “How to” guide to give you the edge
Google has recently introduced new functionality into the AdWords platform that allows you to add a nifty little countdown timer into your ads. These countdown timers are perfect for sales or vouchers that have a deadline – displaying the amount of time remaining until the final date. Just one thing to mention though, it is not a live countdown… Read More
AdWords: 5 Ways To Avoid Blowing Your Budget
AdWords is a great tool for businesses, but if you simply create a campaign using the defaults without understanding all the features, you are risking wasting a lot of money on the wrong sort of traffic. Having a campaign that is bearing no fruit is a nightmare. Whether starting a new campaign, or optimising a… Read More
Callout Extensions – An AdWords “How To” Guide
Struggling with Google’s new ad extension? Well here’s how to set them up quickly and simply. Looking for what to do with them once they are set up? Then take a look at this post on just that, right here. Set Up: 1 – Go to your Campaign in Adwords 2 – Once you have… Read More
Google Callout Extensions – What are they?
Google Callout Extensions are a new feature within their Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising system. It’s Google’s new way of giving you an increase in ad copy that can really improve your Click Through Rates (CTR), and get this, It’s completely free! You pay no more for an ad click with a callout extension than… Read More