AB: Business Guru and All-Round Nice Guy

Search Engine Optimisation 101

AB — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 02:42:45 +0000

Search engine *what*? Yes, yes, sorry if I use too many 'big words' this month, but for a lot of businesses, 'optimising' your site so that it appears higher in the big search engines is well worth the effort. So, up front: what is search engine optimisation? SEO (*much* easier to write than 'search engine optimisation') is the process of preparing your web site so that it ranks higher on the search results page of a search engine. The aim is to be seen before your competition - and even though it may or may not result in more clicks through to your web site, at least you were *found* - from that position, you can work on ways to increase your conversion/click-through rate. If you consider the reverse position, where your web site does not feature at all for a given search, then trivial things like your conversion rate won't matter at all if no-one can find you. So how the heck to we make sure our site is featured prominently for any given search? And how do I make sure my site is listed before my competitor's site? Well, I'm glad you asked. Read on...

Introducing MyPerfect.com.au

AB — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 02:42:46 +0000

The basic idea of My Perfect comes the fact that traditional search engines (yes, Google!) are getting harder and harder to use, as they return many thousands or millions of results for even a fairly specific search. My Perfect turns that idea around completely: instead of typing in one word and finding thousands or millions of results, we *start* with thousands of products, and we play a very smart game of 20 Questions, until you end up with just one, perfect product. We've coined the phrase 'choice engine' to describe it. For you as a consumer, it's a very smart way of finding out what suits you best, in non-technical language, whether you're in early research mode, or whether you're wanting to buy something right now. The best part is that the amount spent on marketing by the big companies doesn't affect your choices - it only uses hard and fast tech specs to decide what stays, and what goes - so you're more able to find the hidden gems amongst the noisy crowd. For businesses, it's the ultimate in marketing: we allow businesses to list themselves against products only if they can actually supply that product, which gives that business a perfectly qualified sales lead. No more advertising to the masses with low success rates - this way, we match one person to their perfect product, to a business that can actually fulfill that product.

Crossing the digital divide: 5 steps to filing with style

AB — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 00:31:59 +0000

Computers are indeed weird inventions - apart from a lot of plastic, some metal and the occasional carbon/silicon giant polymer, most of our interactions with computers are dealing with untouchable, 'virtual' things. From the intangible bits of information on our hard drives, the fleeting images on our screens, and to the vibrant hues reflected in our CDs and DVDs, this virtual world has a whole new set of rules and customs as compared to the physical world. In business circles, people have long since perfected the art of coping with physical information: inboxes, outboxes, photocopiers, filing cabinets, shredders - all the paraphernalia of a typical paper based office. But in the virtual world, we're not so proficient in managing our information as robustly - in many many cases, I see people who are experts in paper-based systems treat their equivalent electronic systems without any of the same proficiency nor zeal. The 'digital divide' is said to delineate 'Generation X' from 'Generation Y' - those who grew up with personal computers vs those who grew up before them. While the definitions of the range of ages of these two generations differs depending on who you talk to, I would suggest that it's not so much age-based, but confidence-based. That said, let me pose a few typical computer filing situations, and show you how to 'file with style' in the virtual world, and feel more confident with your own digital information.

A coffee and a blog for breakfast

AB — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 04:45:43 +0000

How do you start your day? Coffee, tea or fresh OJ? Perhaps a slice of toast and the morning paper? For a lot of the population, it's not only the morning wake-up routine, but it's also their chance to get their daily dose of news and events. Newspapers are still a fresh and consistent source of local and regional news and events, with their wide range of columns and inserts, but (you *knew* there was a 'but' coming, didn't you?) newspapers are edited for the general population, with general interest and general topics that generally please everyone... Let me show you a way to pick and choose your own topics of interest from around the world, and roll-your-own newspaper, so that you can start the day with your perfect selection of news, columns, and advice - and begin your day with coffee and a blog for breakfast.

The Cashflow Crunch: Who, what, when and how to survive one

AB — Mon, 19 May 2008 13:28:24 +0000

At the beginning of this year, reports began to circulate in the media that the economy would be 'off the boil', or 'heading for a rocky patch'. Whichever euphemism you choose, the story was clear: originating from the joys of the sub-prime mortgage markets, and arriving firmly on the doorsteps of our business, the economic outlook would be looking decidedly shaky for a season. Talk of interest rate rises, combined with a general sense of unease about how long the downturn might last, meant that a lot of consumers decided to 'keep their money in their pockets' - and *that*, in turn has led to the a general blowout in payments amongst businesses, resulting in a fairly widespread cashflow crunch across the country. So what really is cashflow? Why is it so important? And how the heck is my business going to survive this trend? Important questions - and if you don't already know the answers, then it's vital for your business that you read on...

Plan A: How to write a good business plan.

AB — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 12:56:51 +0000

Love 'em or hate 'em, a business plan is one of the cornerstones of any new or expanding business - it's simply the distilling and compiling of your knowledge into one source, either for your own reference, or for the reference of your staff or stakeholders. Again, those immortal words: Don't Panic. A business plan should never be an anchor or a dead weight dragging your business down - and it should never be an onerous task to put one together. The good news is that there are 3 wildly different types of business plans - each one focussing on a different business purpose - and one of these types of plans should suit your needs perfectly, without undue effort. Don't believe me? Read on...

Starting Something New - A ‘How To’ Guide

AB — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 03:33:12 +0000

OK, so why am I giving you a run-down of how to start a new business or launch a new product or service - when the economy is all over the place, and business and consumer confidence is falling like a lead balloon...? The answer is actually simple: the next wave of new businesses and new product and services are usually born during periods of economic slowdown, since it is *during* these times that all the half-thought-through ideas fall by the wayside, leaving only the truly remarkable remaining. So... don't despair - in fact, get your thinking cap on, and see what new product or service or solutions to everyday problems lies waiting dormant within your brain!

The Wonders of Web Site Statistics

AB — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 08:07:22 +0000

You know that I love to talk about marketing, especially for small businesses and solo business people - and, in general, how important it is, but in a 'big cloud' kind of way. That's because marketing is vital for any business - it's simply the act of getting your name out there in a controlled and positive way. Nine times out of ten, though, marketing is almost impossible to measure: apart from focus groups, surveys and TV ratings, any effort you spend on marketing tends to pay off as a rather long term positive 'aura' surrounding your business. It's all a bit 'woofy', but it does add up eventually. Enter web site statistics: whether you have a tiny one-page 'contact me' web site, or a small brochure online, or a larger ecommerce or content-based web site, every person that visits your web site leaves their own individual, indelible mark. Don't panic - any one person can't be identified exactly, but an awful lot can be inferred from the patterns of even just a few site visitors over time, and an awful lot more can be inferred from the patterns of many hundreds or thousands of visitors to your site, giving you - and this is important - absolute knowledge of the effectiveness of your web site, and absolute knowledge of the location, size and trends of your market. Interested in learning more then? I thought so - you don't hear the words 'absolute' and 'marketing' together very often!

Online & Offline Marketing: Perfect Partners.

AB — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 23:16:18 +0000

Marketing your business is both a dark art, and an inspired work - that is, even with the best of intentions, marketing is a lot of trial and error, and plenty of hit and miss. Sometimes you make gains with bold new initiatives, but other times you're just one of the many messages that radiates daily from the business world. To use just *one more* clichÃ©, the important point here is not to put all your eggs into the one basket - spreading around different marketing strategies is just the same theory as in the investment world: spread your risk, and make a secure return overall. One of the best ways to spread your marketing message is to cover both extremes: highly targeted, under-your-nose type things, as well as far-reaching, low cost-per-view type things. One of the best highly targeted marketing tools is a direct mailout - a brochure/catalog/catalogue/cattle dog - call it what you will, it's either read voraciously, or used as a bin liner by millions daily. And at the other end of the spectrum, one of the best ways to mass market is via the humble web site - build it and they will come... perhaps...? It's fitting that web sites without any changing content are back-handedly referred to as 'brochureware' in the industry, since both paper-based brochures and virtual brochures have both the ability to communicate strong marketing messages about your business, as well as ability to bore your customers to tears. Since we're aiming for 'strong messages' here, and not for 'bored to tears', the following will show you the strengths and weaknesses of both types of brochure, when to use which one, and how to use *both* online and offline marketing to make good investments in your small business marketing.

Reviewing and re-invigorating your business in 2008

AB — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 06:01:18 +0000

OK - bear with me here - before I tell you how to have a more successful 2008, I'm going to talk about the *brand* of your business for a few paragraphs - but don't go all glassy-eyed on me, OK? In simple terms, the brand of your business is the total message your business communicates to your customers. It's the sum of your logo, your shop fitout, your customer service, and your business ethos - everything that adds up to 'the real you' in business terms. In pure marketing terms, 'branding' and 'brand management' are complex concepts that are often vague and immeasurable - so much so that small business owners don't often invest too much time in 'their brand' - well, not knowingly, at least. The great news is that the smaller a business you are, the more your own personal ethos infiltrates your business, to the point where your business reflects the person *you* are, and vice-versa - in effect, your own values and beliefs shape your business, and hence how your customers perceive your business - your brand. In short, for a small business, the big picture of your brand takes care of itself - all you have to do is keep on making small, smart improvements to your business marketing each year. With that in mind, here's some top tips for reviewing and re-invigorating your business in 2008.