I was privileged to have witnessed a fantastic presentation by Internet Marketing Expert Mark Attwood at a networking event/workshop in Manchester last night. A real internet professional, Mark treated us to over an hour of no nonsense practical advice that dispelled all of the myths that search engine optimisation is some sort of black art that non techies and business people can’t understand. Having made over £10 million from marketing his businesses online, Mark really knows what he’s talking about. His session sent most of the audience out of the room grumbling under their breath at how inadequate their own websites now were.

I’ve always been cynical of so called SEO experts that ring or email you and “guarantee” to make you number one on Google. This phrase has always really got my back up because, well, no one can guarantee this. This is simply because no one really knows what ALL the elements of Google’s incredible search algorithm are and only the staff at Google ever will.

But the main three rules in internet marketing are simple and Mark hammered these home to the audience in style.

They are:

1. Keyword research
2. Keyword research
3. Keyword research

All search engines are really looking to do is to present their users with the most relevant, fresh content. Why - well imagine how much of a user base Google would have if every time we searched we got to a page that contained irrelevant information of no use that was number one on Google just because it had a paragraph of white text at the bottom (on a white background). Would we use Google again? Of course not.

You see - it’s quite simple - search engines reward sites whose pages:

1. Contain relevant information for the phrase typed into the search box.
2. Are updated frequently.
3. Have a number of links pointed at them from well ranked and respective sites.
4. Are well designed and developed, minimising unnecessary code and scripts.
5. Are always online and can be quickly accessed (so hosting is really important for a site!).

Sounds simple. Well – it is, and most things about the Internet are when you eliminate the BS. Mark covered all of these issues brilliantly providing practical examples and advice throughout that anyone could apply to their own business.

I’ve only been a member of TiE for a few months, but I have to say their Networking Events in Manchester have attracted some exceptional speakers that are both inspirational and educational. Last night’s event certainly didn’t disappoint and drew a large and varied audience.

It was great chatting to, among others, Manchester Comedy Club owner David Perkins, Marketing Expert Tarik Toma and Nathan Smith from Manchester PR Agency Smith & Smith.

If you’re an entrepreneur and interested in learning more from your peers, I’d highly recommend checking out TiE. They have events in Manchester and London and at various chapters around the world.

And if you’ve got a spare £10,000, I’d definitely recommend spending the day with Mark Attwood at one of his workshops – yes, that’s not a typo, that’s what he charges and he’s worth every penny!!

Or if you want some practical tips to help your business and have a smaller budget, contact us now.

I was interested to read an article by Jakob Nielsen on the use of press pages by journalists. The research included 3 studies taking place over several years. Sessions took place in the USA, Denmark, Hong Kong, and the UK.

Not surprisingly results revealed that journalists use the Internet as an important search tool. The top five reasons given are as follows:

- to find a press contact (name and contact number)
- to find basic facts about the company
- to seek opinion on current events
- to check financial information
- to download images to use as illustrations in stories

Journalists often work to tight deadlines and therefore this information should be easy to locate. Failure to provide easy to access information may result in the company not being featured. Further, it may also lead to journalists being reluctant to use the site in the future.

To view the report in full go to www.useit.com/alertbox/pr.html.

If you’re looking for a professional website with clear user-friendly content, please contact us on 0161 282 4525.

One thing we have all started using in the office recently is the Google Desktop Sidebar. As well as the built in search feature, which in my opinion is better than the standard search you get in Windows, you get a cool little sidebar for the side of your screen.

This can be customised with little things called ‘Gadgets’, which include (amonsgst many others) clocks, calendars, news readers, and a notepad. There’s also a gadget that lets you keep track of all the Euro 2008 results!

I was interested to read a post on the BBC website about web users becoming more ruthless.

Web guru, Jakob Nielsen’s annual usability report shows that people are becoming much less patient when they go online. Instead of looking around, they want to reach a site quickly, complete a task and leave.

The success rate for people achieving what they set out to do online is currently about 75%. Back in 1999 this figure stood at 60%. Dr Nielsen noted two reasons for the increase. Firstly, designs have improved and secondly ‘users have become accustomed to that interactive environment’. This also makes them more resistant to highlighted promotions that try to distract them.

Interestingly (given the popularity of blogs and Web 2.0 sites) the research also revealed that web users are becoming much more frustrated with widgets and other ‘extras’ which increase download times.

So what does this mean for web owners? How can you ensure that you don’t alienate potential customers when they visit your site? Here are our top five tips.

1. Don’t assume that people are interested in your web site for its own sake. They are visiting your site to fulfill a purpose, whether it’s to find information, make a purchase or complete a booking. Keep this purpose the focus of your site.

2. Make it clear on your home page what it is you do. This may sound obvious but it’s something that is often overlooked. According to Web Pages that Suck, people should be able to work out what your site is about in 4 seconds.

3. Ensure that your website is easy to navigate and that information is structured in a logical way. Navigation should remain consistent throughout and visitors should be aware of where they are in the site, how they can move on and how they can get back to the home page.

4. Text should be concise, well organised and split into manageable chunks. Include your most important points first. It take people longer to read from a computer screen and users tend to avoid reading through overly long paragraphs. Instead they skim and scan. Make it easier for them to do this by using subheadings and bullet points where possible.

5. Avoid pointless design features or images that ultimately detract from your message and get in the way of visitors completing the task they set out to complete on entering the site.

Further Reading:

Web Users Getting More Ruthless (BBC Article) - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7417496.stm

Jakob Nielsen’s Website - www.useit.com

Web Pages that Suck - www.webpagesthatsuck.com

We’ve had a number of enquires recently from customers wanting to know the best way to edit photographs and images to upload to their web sites. In most cases we usually point them in the direction of Piknik, an online photo editor. The free service Piknik offers is usually sufficient for most users, allowing them to crop and resize images as well as tweaking things like exposure and contrast. A paid for service is also available which offers some more advanced tools and features.

Splashup, another free online service, offers slightly more advanced tools and an interface that will seem familiar to users of Photoshop. Although there’s a little more to Splashup, it is still easy to use and offers some tools you wouldn’t expect to find in such as program.

Both Piknik and Splashup run online, meaning you don’t need to install anything and you can use them from any computer with an internet connection. For a more powerful alternative that you can install at home, take a look at Paint.net. It is a fully fledged graphics package that gives many commercial products a run for their money. And, being open source, Paint.net is completely free.