Page Speed for SEO

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Here’s a video and information for you to really understand the new page insights.

http://www.facebook.com/facebookforbusiness/news/pageinsights

Let me know what you think …..

… Deb

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Let’s face it, spam is annoying and as a business owner we may be creating that spam ourselves. Of course we believe that our marketing is not spam but that may not be how our potential customers feel about it. So that’s what this article is all about and today being Valentine’s Day, I thought it was quite appropriate to speak about this today.

This first post is about email marketing spam. I’ll be looking at other areas of spam in further posts.

Let’s first define what spam is

This is what Wikipedia has to say about it …

“Spam is the use of electronic messaging systems to send unsolicited bulk messages, especially advertising, indiscriminately. While the most widely recognized form of spam is e-mail spam, the term is applied to similar abuses in other media.”

If we don’t want spam why do we keep receiving it? Well spam is easy, buying or renting a list from a list supplier is very simple and quick to do. You can import the list into your email program and then you’re ready to go. Spam is also cheap, direct mail, phone and ad campaigns promise a huge reach for what seems like very little expense. And finally, spam doesn’t require knowledge about your customer, and that’s the biggest problem.

Combine all that with the fact that consumers spend lots of money every year to keep spam out of their inboxes. Plus, email marketing accounts for 70% of spam complaints.

What spammers do

• Over 80% of marketers send the same content to all email contacts. Regardless of whether those recipients want what you send them, it’s the fact that the person at the end of the message is not considered. Spammers just don’t care, they don’t ‘love’ the receivers of their message.
• Spammers send the same email all the time. If you send everyone the same message all the time, then people are less likely to respond to it. It will just get binned.
• Generic emails, you know the ones that say dear valued customer or sir/madam. Spammers don’t care about people’s personal details like names, which are very important to the receiver.

What loveable marketers to

• The best way to ensure your emails are relevant and useful to your recipients is to segment your list. Segmentation will ensure that your email recipients only receive emails that are relevant to their particular needs and interests.

Heres how to make your email list work for your business:

1. Make a list and check it twice – as your list grows your contacts will include more and more people so ensure that you segment them into appropriate lists so that the right content gets to the right people. You can segment by interests, past purchases, buying frequency and engagement with your brand.
2. Find effective ways to nurture – consider where people are in their buying process, this is what I call ‘lead nurturing’. If someone hasn’t interacted with your for some time, sending them aggressive sales messages will just make them want to jump ship.
3. Let buyer behaviour impact your emails – monitor how many people click through on your emails, your bounce rates and the rates of your older subscribers to more recent contacts. Then use this information to design a new email campaign and provide better information.

• Only send emails to your audience when you know that the content you’re sending will give them value or enhance their lives. Plus, be respectful of their time and not give long winded emails that they won’t read.
• If someone has given you information about themselves then use it to address their immediate needs and their personal need to be recognised. Even just using their first name will make a huge difference.

So these are just a few tips to make sure you make love not war with your email marketing campaigns. Of course there is spam in other areas of the web but I’ll leave that for another article.

… Deb

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Well this is how Wikipedia describes podcasting …

“A podcast is a type of digital media consisting of an episodic series of audio, video, PDF, or ePub files subscribed to and downloaded through web syndication or streamed online to a computer or mobile device. The word is a neologism derived from “broadcast” and “pod” from the success of the iPod, as podcasts are often listened to on portable media players.”

Ok, I know that sounds a little convoluted so very simply it means to record something and then make it available via the web. This may sound like just a geeky idea to you and isn’t relevant to your business but hear me out. It can be very lucrative indeed. Particularly as your competitors are most likely, not doing it.

Why would you want to create podcasts for your business?

Firstly, it’s a great way to get more information out to your potential customers and your existing customers. It also makes things much more personal which has proven to be very successful over and over again. The web is THE No.1 PLACE people go to when they want to find information or to discover something. Let me just repeat that for clarity … THE WEB IS THE No.1 PLACE PEOPLE GO TO FOR INFORMATION.

If you provide that information, then people will come back again and again to discover more. I know from my own personal experience that if I find a website that provides really useful information that I’m looking for, I’ll add it to my favourites and visit it over and over again. I really don’t enjoy looking for something new each time. If I find something good, I stick with it. And that’s the clue …. keep providing good ‘content’ to your website visitors and they’ll keep coming back.

Why podcasting?

Podcasting is just another ‘flavour’ if you like, of the type of content you can provide. It’s usually in audio format so people can press play and listen to it while they are working on something else. Constantly reading information online can get a bit tiring so providing content in a different ‘format’ can hit the right button with people.

Don’t think podcasts are for your biz? Think again.

Bed & Breakfast or Hotel

Even a B&B has something to say. For example, a podcast on what’s happening in the local area over the coming season. Winter is always a difficult time for tourist areas in the UK (unless your a ski resort). Create a podcast discussing your area and it’s uniqueness during winter can bring you extra guests. Interview local restaurants, activity centres or just the locals. By doing this, you are developing yourself as resource for your local area. And you are giving your part of the world a more personal character.

Local Restaurant

A restaurant could create a podcast that discusses what food is in season and the wonderful dishes they create with local and seasonal food. Of course, mentioning special offers and events could also be thrown in. Interviewing restaurant goers would be a fun idea. Obviously you’d need to pick your table carefully but walking around the restaurant one evening, interviewing customers and then creating a podcast with the commentary would be quite fun. Remember to ask permission first and you can easily record with a hand held digital recorder. I use one of these just to record ideas, discussions and meetings.

Garden Centre, Tool Hire or Hardware Store

There’s always seasonal jobs to do around the garden and home. Businesses could create a podcast discussing the typical things that can be done at this time of year. Prevention is always better than fixing later on! What needs to be done in the garden to prepare for the next season. Those types of ideas. You could also get more creative and ask customers for tips and tricks to keep costs down when doing repairs or garden work. This sort of information is worth its weight in gold.

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5 Quality Features Your UK Website Hosting Provider Must Have

1. Easy Control Panel:
   The control panel is the place you will be visiting most often, so it should be easy to use and have all the features you need. A simple and easy-to-use control panel is cPanel (it’s actually what I use myself), which provides one of the best control panel user experiences. CPanel offers more than 42 different icons, 50 of the most used PHP scripts, shopping carts, forums, and even a WordPress blog (with one-click installation) one of the best blogging platforms and CMS (content management systems) available. cPanel also provides an easy to use layout and navigation.
2. On 24-7:
   Your uk website hosting provider should be working for you around the clock. This will ensure that your website up and running 99.9% of the time, and the server should be able to locate and repair any problems as soon as they appear. It’s rare that a server goes down, but if and when it does happen, you want your hosting provider to be on the ball and get it back up and running quickly. That could mean lost sales, lost visitors, and maybe even lost customers for life. No one wants that. The web host should be working all of the time, no exceptions. It should constantly monitor your website at least every few minutes for problems, check your server load and RAM, and be able to let administrators know immediately so they can instantaneously fix the problem. By the way, they don’t do this personally, they have top programs that alert them if anything happens and they can then get onto resolving it quickly. Your web host should also provide a fire wall to keep your website safe from hackers, viruses, and anything else that could effect your website. I can’t emphasise enough how important this is and how often website owners take it for granted that ‘nothing will happen’. I spend a great deal of time ‘repairing’ hacked websites.
3. An Outstanding Server:
   If you want to avoid regular problems and too much downtime (all that can be avoided) you need to find a web host with a reliable server. The web host’s server should have multiple hard drives, good RAM, the latest CPUs, the best power supply, quality motherboards, a great cooling system, and a testing system for all new servers. This all goes without saying really.
4. Linux Servers:
   Go with a Linux server wherever possible. It’s less hassle and much more reliable. You don’t need to have Linux on your own computer to have a web host that uses Linux. Linux has been shown to be more reliable and able to handle larger loads than other server operating systems. It is even better at virus protection and has a better uptime than others.
5. Free Features:
   Your web host should provide you with a variety of free features, or features that you can use for a small fee. These features should include things that you can add to your website such as graphics, blogs (WordPress), paid pages, sub domains, forums and more.

These are the most important features a UK website hosting provider should offer you. Of course, many offer much much more but unless the above are covered, then keep looking.

… Deb

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Selling Through Social Media to Close More Leads InsideView

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Amy Porterfield is someone you should really pay attention to. I met her while on the Facebook Success Summit last year and thought that her presentations were the best. She spoke clearly, concisely and kept the hype to a minimum. So when this course came out, I felt compelled to sign up and am very glad a I did.

Those of us who know that Facebook is an important part of a business marketing strategy, will also know how difficult it can be to keep up with all the constant changes, new policy guidelines and sometimes just how to do very simple things. Since following Amy, I’ve felt that I have a clear path to follow now. She really knows about Facebook marketing. In fact, that’s all she does and does it very well.

To get started Click Here!

This program is a compact course of videos and downloadable resources to help you get the maximum out of Facebook for marketing your business. It’s a complete roadmap for creating and leveraging the power of Facebook to get you more website traffic and also to build your business brand online. Everything is covered from setting up your profile right through to Facebook ads. All in simple and clear video tutorials.

Those of you I’ve helped get established on Facebook will really find this program a valuable tool in their online marketing strategy. Amy keeps everything up-to-date so if there’s any changes, they are promptly added to the program unlike so many others where you need to keep buying the new material.

To get started Click Here!

So what do you get in the FBInfluence program?

Module 1: Includes the core Facebook marketing rules, how to brand your own Facebook page, create a welcome tab, dashboard overview and how to run your community. Plus the latest timeline changes and how to deal with them.

Module 2: How to build your audience on Facebook, how to grow your fan base, how to get leads using Facebook, how to make sure your updates show up on the news feeds of your fans. Plus the best options for social plugins and social sharing.

Module 3: Is all about engaging and developing a relationship with your audience. What to post and when to post it. Strategies for great engagement. How to promote your events on Facebook and also how to track your Facebook success.

Module 4: How to find fans and then turn them into super fans. Use Facebook for great customer service. How to turn your Facebook photos into free Facebook Ads. Tips and strategies for using Facebook ads. Building an online store for your Facebook page. Plus much more.

Bonuses: You’ll get some great bonuses as well. Such as:

• How to Create Your Social Media Strategy to Rapidly Increase Exposure
• The Three Step Lead Generating Facebook Blueprint
• ‘Change is Good’ Exploring Facebook’s New Features
• How to Cash in on Facebook Places and Deals
• Turning Fans into Super Fans

Plus you’ll get full access support to Amy’s private Facebook Group to give you all the help you need along the way.

Money Back Guarantee

If you’re not completely happy with this program, there is a full money back guarantee. No questions asked. So there’s really nothing to lose.

I thoroughly recommend this program to anyone who is looking to master Facebook for marketing their business. It’s the only one you’ll need.

Have fun with it!

… Deb

If you’re ready to sign up, then just click the link below to get started.

To purchase FB Influence Click Here!

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Infographic by SEOmoz & AYTM Market Research

Now, what does all this mean?

First, let’s look at who was involved in this survey. Over 600 responses fuelled this information, not comprehensive but enough to show the trends in SEO pricing. Where the UK is concerned there were fewer statistics but trends here tend to follow that in the USA.

Countries included in this data:

• USA with 287 responses
• United Kingdom with 76 responses
• Canada with 34 responses
• Australia/New Zealand with 28 responses
• Europe with 34 responses
• India with 31 responses

The main points revealed about SEO pricing

1. Hourly SEO rates vary from country to country with £45 to £125 per hour being most common
   The highest rates are in Australia/New Zealand followed closely by the USA and Canada. The lowest rates being in India. So I guess the UK is somewhere in the middle in terms of the rates for SEO.
2. By-Project Pricing is the most popular at around £650 to £4500 per project
   Just over 70% of agencies offer project-based pricing which is the most popular option for clients. Around half of the respondents worked in price ranges such as £650 – £950, £950 – £1500, £1500 – £3200 and £3200 – £4800. These prices are based on the size of the project and the number of hours required to complete it.
3. Monthly Retainer SEO Pricing varies
   Ongoing monthly fees for seo varied quite widely with the most common being £160 – £320 per month and £1,600 – £3200 per month.
4. Hands-on Help still very popular
   Nearly 90% of respondents said that they provide ‘hands-on’ help when it comes to making seo changes to sites and link building. Very helpful for clients who really don’t want to manage that side of SEO.
5. More offering a broader range of services
   Agencies that just focus on SEO are now being replaced by agencies that offer a wider range of services including seo but also social media, content, conversion, analytics and local search.
6. Web Design/Development Agencies that do SEO
   This is the most popular type of agency here in the UK. Website designers or developers that also offer seo services were better represented than just SEO focused agencies.
7. Agencies focus on helping smaller businesses
   Regardless of the impression that SEO agencies are really only for big business, over 40% of agencies help small businesses with SEO. Businesses like restaurants, b&bs, retail shops and the like.
8. Agencies offer ongoing monthly seo  and hourly rate services
   Although project based pricing is the most popular with small businesses for seo, most agencies offer ongoing monthly retainers and hourly rates as well. Important for keeping projects performing at their best.

So there you have it! Not a definitive answer to SEO pricing but at least you can see what is being charged in the UK on average. Let us know what you think of this and make your comments below.

… Deb

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I’ve been aware of a growing trend from small business owners to completely distrust anything and anyone to do with the internet. Some of my visits were received with a guarded welcome and I was aware of the puzzled and judging looks (that is becoming so common) of the client who was trying to work out whether what I was saying is true or not.

Of course it takes a while to get to know someone and anyone who has known me a while, will know that I only bother talking about what’s true and worthwhile about the web. I think what has shocked me so much is how much people mistrust the internet and anyone who has anything to do with it.

The truth, the valuable and the worthwhile on the internet

To be honest, I don’t really blame them. There is a lot of bullshit out there. Even I have been misled, oversold and taken in by programs, ebooks and people who prance around in their posh home offices professing to be the king or queen of this or that on the web. It’s easy to be taken in, taken over by what others say you ‘must have’ or you’ll be left out in the cold.

Perhaps it’s because of this that I’ve sought the truth, the valuable and the worthy in the world wide web. I too am sick of listening to (again) how much money someone has made by using some secret or magical formula that, for you too, will work wonders.

What’s the way forward?

Here’s the thing though ….. if we disbelieve everything and distrust everyone on the internet, then there’s no way forward. We remain stagnant, stuck fast in our own fears and judgement of others. We can’t move forward. It’s like standing at the front doors of a major supermarket and not venturing inside because we’re afraid that we might fall for a 2-for-1 special deal.

If we allow fear to control our every decision to make progress, then progress is impossible. We stay where we are and all we can do is watch as others who are more daring, to pass us by on the road to success.

Yes, the internet is full of sharks, charletons and bullshit merchants. Yet there is a small and amazing (and growing) group of people and businesses that are doing wonderful things on the internet. Doing things with integrity, honesty and most importantly, without the hype.

This is my definition of what markers do when creating hype:

Highly exagerate

Your

Perception and

Expectations

What’s true and what’s not?

I guess that I’ve worked online and in the computer industry for so long now that I can see clearly what’s true and what’s not. I tend to trust my gut instinct about this most often and it’s never let me down.

If something seems to good to be true, it probably is. If someone says this is a last opportunity to get something, they’re usually lying. If you feel something is just not right, then there’s probably a very good reason.

BUT, and I stress this. That’s not a reason to suspect everyone and everything. “Trust but with verification” has been a motto that has steered me very well over the years.

The bottom line is that the internet is an amazing place of opportunity for small business. It does level the playing field for small business to compete with the big corporations. There are truly beneficial people, products and services out there to help you.

What’s a good way to spot them? They’re usually the quiet ones, busily getting on with supporting their customers and creating value for money. Good people doing good work.

What do you think?

… Deb

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