So why do some people use multiple <h1> headings in pages? Apart from a lack of web accessibility knowledge, they can be overused for supposed search engine benefits. It is widely thought in the search optimisation industry that <h1> heading tags are quite influential in the search engines, and the keywords used in these help search rankings. I would tend to agree with this, however it needs to be remembered that web designers should be creating sites designed for users, and not for search engines.

Now I’m not proposing that search engines should be ignored – they can be a very powerful source of traffic and revenue! What I am saying, though, is that the search optimisation of a website should not interfere with accessibility and the general user experience. A balance should be struck where the site is fully optimised for Google, Yahoo and Bing etc, but should not interfere with the usability and accessibility of the site.

Tags: web design, accessibility, accessible web design, search engines, usability, heading tags, title tags

I’m sure once the word gets out and this technology is rolled-out to production websites it will grow exponentially in quite a short amount of time. Personally I’m quite excited by this and the potential that this will have to compete against rival major ad networks and methods!

We really enjoyed working on this project and with Pradeep Raman, an Innovation Manager at Newcastle Science City, and are delighted to launch the site with a range of advanced features, such as…

• SIFR search optimised font-styled headings, so we can still offer gorgeous headings that are both SEO-friendly and meet accessibility guidelines.
• Javascript system for the live advertising demos – complete cross-browser support from the decrepit Internet Explorer 6 to Firefox 3
• Integration of blogging system and customisation to offer a consistent visual presentation to the rest of the site.

Tags: online advertising, inline image advertising, contextual image advertising, new website client, adtronik, new client

Response Times

• Sales enquiries: 3 hours
• Support requests: 2 hours
• Accounts queries: 12 hours
• ‘Out of hours’: 14 hours

Tags: customer service, standards, web design clients

I just ran a test and can’t personally see any problems with the service, suggesting that any problems have now been fixed. I’ll keep an eye on the problem and in the meantime I would make sure you have multiple payment methods set up on any of your websites just in case.

Tags: google checkout, payment problems, ecommerce websites

Small business owners are quite rightly careful at how they spend their budget, sometimes too careful. Like many things, in the web design industry you can pay pretty much anything to have a website designed. The difference however doesn’t just rest in the price, but in the quality of the finished website, and hence the business it generates. When pitching for work, we have to differentiate that we’re not the cheapest web design company in the North East for good reasons. A well planned, well designed and marketed website will generate returns many times over a ‘cheap’ website.

The moral of the story… getting a website designed is a bit like hiring a salesperson or other staff for that matter – you should invest in the best you can afford as it will generate much more business for you in the long-term.

Tags: great web design, business leads, increase business, web design company

This campaign was set up by another company and we are just taking over their website’s PPC to try and optimise its performance. The first item for improvement we noticed was that their Quality Score (QS) for their keywords was very low! Quality scores are given out of ten, and some of their keywords had quality scores of just three or four! In such a competitive industry this is a big issue, meaning their CPC will be a lot higher than it needs to be. To check the quality score of keywords in Google Adwords you need to click into the Campaign, then click “Keywords” and in the “Columns” section make sure “Qual Score” is ticked. When it is, a column will appear in your keyword summary page showing the QS.

So, that’s the first on the agenda to tackle. As a quick suggestion, all of the following will probably be worth looking into:

• Relevance of Ads to keyword phrases
• Keyword Phrase matching – ie: are they using the best keyword matching in terms of  ‘exact’, ‘broad’ and ‘phrase’
• Negative keywords – add negative keywords to filter out irrelevant clicks
• Landing pages – are the landing pages optimised for the keyword / ad combination? If not then get your web design company to make sure that each advert has a carefully targetted landing page with specific calls-to-action.
• Position Preferences – whilst this won’t affect your quality score, setting a position preference may prevent your ad from showing if the Ad Rank is not high enough to beat the competition in your position preference range.

That’s just a quick summary, you might be wondering why all the detail in the above when the title of this blog post is about Adwords ‘impression share’. Well, the quality score impacts how many times your ad is shown. In general terms, the impression share (IS) is how many times your Ad was shown for relevant searches. A 100% impression share would mean that your advert was shown each time a relevant search was made. A 50% impression share would mean that your advert was only shown 50% of the times it could have been.

So why is this relevant? You can drill-down to find out whether a low daily budget limited the amount of times that Google showed your advert, or whether it was due to ‘Ad Rank’. If you’re not reaching your daily budget yet the Impression Share is still low, that probably means your Ad Rank is low. This is a formula of Cost Per Click (CPC) and the quality score.  Increasing CPC (the costly method) or improving your Quality Score will help to improve your Ad’s Impression Share.

Tags: impression share, google adwords, ppc management, cpc, quality score, increase impression share, adrank

What does this mean for website owners and ecommerce sites?

• Firstly the top of the page is the most important part and any calls to action / important information should be located near the top.
• Don’t put important information near the bottom of a long web page, users are a lot less likely to scroll to the bottom.
• Consider your website’s target audience demographics – certain types of users, perhaps based on age groups or computer familiarity, are less likely to scroll than other groups. It may be necessary to indicate to users that more information can be found by scrolling.
• To maximise sales, ecommerce sites should avoid displaying too many products on one web page, and product pages should contain all the relevant information ‘above the fold’.

Tags: above the fold, web designers, web page, scrolling, website users

Ecommerce website owners should continue to market their website and their products to tap into the increasing market. Although the actual numbers of online shoppers is increasing, it is also reported that they are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their shopping habits. Some consumers go straight to a particular website to make a purchase, whereas other shoppers will use increasingly complex search engine queries to find the best products at the best prices.

What does this mean for ecommerce site owners? I would suggest that website owners continue to look for new and emerging methods of promoting their online stores. Some methods have been around for a few years now, but here are some to provide food for thought:

• Google Base – upload your products so they are searchable in Google product listings
• Twitter – Increasingly useful to connect to your target market, and also indirectly advertise your products
• Search marketing / SEO – Continue to analyse your search marketing strategy to make sure your site isn’t slipping. Search marketing and optimisation should ideally be part of an ongoing campaign to ensure you maximise your exposure.
• Facebook / Linked In / My Space etc.. – depends on your target market as to what may be relevant.

Tags: ecommerce, online, e-retailing, imrg

Specialist discussion forums can not only provide a wealth of information and advice from a variety of viewpoints, but can also be a medium-term online marketing strategy. By responding to questions you can demonstrate your expertise in your field of business, and as you become part of the community you may start to receive requests for business and referrals. Most forums also allow you to add a ‘signature’ to your posts, which in some cases can benefit your search engine marketing strategy.

Participating in forums should be both ‘give’ and ‘take’ – you put effort into helping others, and hopefully in the process you will also be promoting your website and business.

Tags: online communities, networking websites, internet users, discussion forums

• Webmail: http://webmail.aerodesigns.co.uk
• Control Panel: http://cp.aerodesigns.co.uk

We are now pleased to announce that we can offer remote support to all our clients – so if you are having difficulties setting up your email accounts or are having other problems then with your permission we can log onto your computer remotely and fix the problem.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re at your home or in the office, the software we use works behind any network, and as long as you have an internet connection then we will be able to help you out.

Tags: remote support, web design, web designers, support software, email accounts

Tags: car dealership, maxwell motors, ford, web design, ford dealership

Tags: website content, owners, website, website owners, small business, small business web design

After reading through a web design forum earlier today, one topic caught my interest regarding certain SEO software packages which claim to be able to achieve first page results on Google for customers websites. First of all, they can’t, simple as that. It’s a fact that for the majority of even slightly competitive keyword phrases, no automated tool will be able to cut the mustard when it comes to achieving results…

SEO is very much an intuitive process involving a multitude of factors from high quality website content, inbound links, on-site search optimisation, site link structure etc.. It needs a human eye to assess the level of competitiveness of the keyword, and develop a strategy accordingly. If you read the terms and conditions of many of these SEO software packages which make such claims, you will probably see that the first page results they quote are based upon a number of unrealistic (or just plain stupid) assumptions. For example, one major SEO software package states that to achieve the results it promises, your website must have more inbound links than the current most competitive sites. Well, to any seasoned SEO consultant, that really isn’t much of a surprise and would form the basis of most SEO campaigns anyway.

SEO software packages are not the panacea in achieving the much coveted first page of Google (or any other search engine for that matter!), and should only be used for a small fraction of the overall SEO strategy (mainly on-page optimization). Despite all of the above comments, these packages may help business owners new to SEO to gain an appreciation into some of the factors that go into on-page optimisation, however don’t be fooled into believing claims of ‘first page of Google’ other than by an experienced SEO consultant or company that can actually back up their claims.

Tags: search, optimisation, optimization, engines, Google, SEO, packages, software, automated

This small post is just to announce the opening of the AeroDesigns Business Stationery Store . We have a range of business stationery on offer, from business cards to letterheads and flyers. All of the products are available for purchase through the website, and include FREE UK delivery. We offer great low priced deals for bulk stationery, with exceptional prices for jobs of between 2500 and 10,000 copies. The quality of the stationery is extremely high as we feel it is important to give you the best product possible rather than skimping on materials (as some other business stationery stores do, mentioning no names).

For a short period only, we are offering 10% off all stationery orders, just enter “ST2008TEN” during the Checkout process to claim your discount. To view the store please click here:

Buy Business Stationery Online

Tags: business stationery, letterheads, business cards, stationery, stationary, cards, flyers, compliment slips, complement slips, glossy, double sided, online store

First of all you need to decide how much longer you want to work in your business before selling it or passing it on. This can be based on priorities, for example if you have other more profitable priorities to concentrate on, or if you have financial commitments that need to be met. In the last few years of your business you will want to try and build its value, so you get the best deal at the end of it. Whilst you can focus on building revenues, more specifically you want to try and focus on building cash flow to increase its final value. Increasing the cashflow and increasing your customer base are two of the most effective actions to follow.

Getting an exit strategy in place also involves deciding and planning how you will pass on the management tasks of the businesses, will you train an existing set of employees or will a new group be hired from the incoming owner? Your ability to sell the business will obviously depend on the industry and type of business you run. If your business is a ‘personal’ business offering an individual service, for example a sole physiotherapist, then it is the reputation you have built up individually that is important, and you might not be able to realistically sell the business.

As well as attempting to increase the cashflow of the business, trying to streamline the business operations is also important, to make potential future management as easy as possible for people looking to take over the business. By ensuring that training and manuals are available for future staff, and that operations are as easily transferable will help to smooth the process and encourage buyers.

Of course selling a business isn’t the only ‘exit strategy’ possible, there are a range of other strategies: You might want to keep the business in the family, delegate operations completely, pass the business on or just close it. For any potential exit which involves either selling the business or involves new staff taking over then the above tips will hopefully be relevant.

Whatever you decide, the key is to plan well in advance.

Tags: exit strategy, planning your exit, small business, exit strategies, business exit

The Yorkshire Bank research stated that one problem small businesses owners encounter is the difficulty in having a ‘sounding board’ to discuss ideas and decisions. Even if you don’t have any employees that can offer an opinion, there are a variety of sources of advice that shouldn’t be overlooked. The first place for advice is BusinessLink, which provides a wealth of free guides and information sheets through their website. In addition, you can book appointments with them to receive business advice on all manner of topics, from operational issues to marketing advice. I can’t speak for all of the advisers, however the one I met up with in Newcastle certainly knew what they were talking about, as she had previously run a business with an annual turnover of over £8 million. They’re also available to offer help via email or over the phone if you require. You can find the contact details of your local BusinessLink by visiting their website, www.businesslink.gov.uk.

One of the areas uncovered by the survey of Yorkshire Bank was that small business owners felt that approaching a bank manager for advice wasn’t a realistic option. Yorkshire Bank, however, have been keen to promote their ‘experienced advisors’ that have been trained to understand the specific needs and conditions inherent in small business ownership, and will take a holistic and broad view of both the business and personal finances.

So if you need free advice then why not give Business Link a call, or book an appointment with an adviser at your bank.

Tags: business advice, businesslink, bank manager, small business owner

Some key points from the article include focussing on cash flow not profitability, being conservative (or realistic!) in your sales forecast expectations, and not wasting or employing resources which your business doesn’t really need. One of my favourite tips from the article is to forecast from the bottom-up and not top-down. What this basically means is that you shouldn’t base your sales forecasts on figures such as ‘percent of market’, but from your actual capacity. For example if you have production facilities for say 20 units per week, then calculate how many per year you can create based on this, rather than by estimating that you will secure 1% of a 10 million total market demand.

Tags: bootstrapping, business startups, cashflow

I received an email the other week from an individual claiming and acting like a genuine customer. They requested a quote, and instantly said they would like to go ahead with the order (which was a bit strange as they hadn’t even asked any questions). Then I received an email from them saying that the cheque would be in the post, HOWEVER, this is where I began to thought it was a scam.. The ‘customer’ said that unfortunately his ‘PA’ (yeah right!) had mistakenly written the cheque out for ten times the amount I was charging! I was asked to cash the cheque and then send one back for the surplus amount – by this point I’d already told the scammer that he would have to re-send a cheque for the correct amount.

If I was to actually cash the cheque in, it would have bounced within a few weeks as it would probably have been fraudulent funds. By that time I could have sent the scammer the surplus funds, and when his original cheque did bounce, I would be seriously out of pocket. So whatever you do, don’t accept overvalued cheques, and also don’t send your financial details or bank account information (even on your pro forma invoice) to customers who you don’t really know.

Tags: scam, overvalued cheque, internet scam, email scam, avoiding scams

The diagram on the right shows an example of long-tail keywords in practice – for example although we get a proportion of our traffic for the competitive keyword phrase ‘web designers’, we get a lot more traffic combined from other less popular keyword phrases. There are various methods of targeting these long-tail keywords, either directly or indirectly.

You can target less popular keyword phrases directly by utilising search engine optimising techniques for the page, such as making sure the phrase appears in the title tag and on the body of the web page. You can also build the amount of inbound links to that page that contain the keyword phrase in the anchor text, boosting your link popularity and rankings for that phrase.

As many search engine optimisers espouse, ‘content is king’ – the more text-rich content you have on your website, the more potential visitors the search engines will pass to you. Provide guides around your subject, write articles, and as long as you stick to a relevant theme or topic then you will start to get visitors that use search terms you won’t ever have thought of. If you check your website statistics log to see what keyword phrases people have used to enter your site, you’re sure to be surprised, and will probably be amused when you see what some people type in!

Tags: long-tail keywords, keywords, website visitors, search engine traffic, search engines