Category Archives: Business

SEO in 2016

SEO in 2016

SEO is dead – I was informed of this in a meeting last week. It was relayed from an online marketing training course. Social media is the new recommended alternative approach to obtaining web traffic.

Just hearing the phrase ‘SEO is dead’ raised a smile I admit.

SEO in 2016

Because SEO in 2016 is highly evolved.

If you publish using WordPress, Drupal or other popular CMS systems you have access to excellent tools to help you. These are for SEO and readability.

A few months ago we looked at the new zen of search engine optimisation; the importance of creating good quality content.

But quality rules.

This is still the fundamental benchmark – original, unique, quality content.

And popularity of course.

Secondly though is how important other respected websites view this content.

So to get your content recognised and respected you have to share it with your audiences. Existing and potential.

By following the principle of ‘answer the question‘ your content will be found by people searching for the answer(s) you give.

So success in SEO in 2016 needs awareness of the potential you have. Find the right balance of copy, imagery, audio and video to get your messages heard – Loud and Clear!

You may consider creating an ‘app’ for your customers, clients, users. Apps combine with websites and social media profiles to fully immerse people in your experience. And consequently in your brand.

Google are prioritising ‘mobile search’ in recognition of the shift in users away from desktops. ‘Local search’ is also crucial for any business or local based service, artisan or other. So being able to offer a complete experience using an app is well worth evaluating.

SEO in 2016 tips.

So your full SEO strategy for 2017/18 should include things like;

  • make sure the ‘answer the question’ principle applies to all new content
  • use social media to expand, promote and interact with audiences and potential customers
  • use YouTube
  • make regular use of your mailing list – this is where the best ‘gold’ usually resides
  • use your analytics data to see what is working for you and maximise the return
  • look at creating your own app for mobiles and tablets
  • watch ‘search’ trends and keep a particular eye on your industry to see where you can promote your messages

Finally, don’t neglect your SEO in 2016 because somebody tells you. Everyone else at the top of the lists are working hard to make sure they stay there. Keep your focus on the best and strive to build your credibility.

 

ds can hide your messages and lead to the monetisation mistake

The monetisation mistake

ds can hide your messages and lead to the monetisation mistake

Have you noticed how many websites entice you with provocative headlines? Often the headline is accompanied by a thumbnail. So you click the link and the site loads, bombarding you with adverts, videos, mailing list sign-ups and the rest. These websites do this because they want to make money. The links are known as ‘click-bait’.

And here lies the monetisation mistake.

If there was a genuine interest in sharing news, messages, interesting discoveries and the rest then things would be different. But at the present time many websites are simply in existence to make their owners money.

In the early ’90s we were told to prepare for the information super-highway. This would revolutionise our lives with fast access to data.

The reality some 25 years on is a little different.

For a start the term ‘information super-highway’ was dropped long ago in favour of ‘the Internet’. And we now are in a culture of ‘monetisation’.

So really the Internet is being used by many as a form of gold mining.

That’s not to say there’s no innovation or new ideas. But the simple reality on a day to-day basis is that more and more sites seem to be happy to cover their content in advertisements.

These advertisements usually have nothing to do with the original website. Or anything to do with the original content.

News Aggregators best for latest info.

Over the last six months I’ve been testing news aggregators. There is a good one from Apple called ‘News’ and a few on the Android platform. These aggregators take feeds from lots of sources and combine them into categorised news collections.  Each aggregator allows you to completely customise the content.

The main thing I’ve observed is that content is cleaner in the aggregators. So you get the story without all the ads.

For example Wales Online have lots of stories relating to my locality. On the aggregators the Wales Online stories are organised and load really fast. If I then go to the Wales Online website to find the same story I meet video overlays and video inserts that play automatically. This is while I’m trying to read an article. So I turn off the ads and then the page jumps around while it loads another set of ads.

By this time I’m thinking to leave the site and go back to the news aggregator. Can you relate to this?

An interesting app called Medium is another slightly different tool and I’m just checking it out at the moment. It’s aimed at ‘writers and thinkers’ but so far seems full of things like ’10 ways to look clever in meetings’.

Do you need it?

If you’re a website owner you should ask yourself. Do adverts undermine your messages?

Are there other ways to get this website to pay for itself and make extra?

Social Media Network Overview

This Social Media Network Overview is here to help clarify what social media is being used for and how you can use it to your advantage.

There are so many social networks nowadays. Its completely bewildering.

Just where do you start with social media?

In the United Kingdom the main social media platforms are:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Here’s an overview of the main networks and how you might use them for your business.

Social Media Network Overview – Part 1.

Facebook.

Facebook

Users: Facebook reports 1.49 billion users monthly. Asia accounts for 28%, Europe for 24%, USA and Canada for 17% and the rest of the world for 30% of those users. Roughly 50/50 male and female balance.

How it’s used: Facebook is the largest social network in the world. Users can share products and content that resonates with them. Facebook offers brand, company and product pages where users can interact with and review brands based on their experiences.

How you can use it: Facebook is the place for ‘long-form content’. With no character or word limit these posts get the most Facebook shares and likes. So start writing your epic stories and promotions! Encourage your fans to post reviews or stories about their experiences with your site on your brand page. Facebook is also a great platform to offer insider tips, troubleshooting ideas, meet-up and event invites and those all important promotional offers.


Twitter.

Twitter

Users: Twitter reports 304 million users monthly. The majority of those users are from Asia, North America and Western Europe. They are 90% male.

How it’s used: Twitter was made for short commentary. That’s within 140 characters or less. Users can (and do) use it to talk about and interact with brands about their products or services.

How you can use it: Encourage your users to tweet about your brand, letting others know why they love it. Or create a hashtag to kick-start a conversation. Be sure to re-tweet others to show appreciation. Respond if asked a question or tagged in a tweet. If its appropriate, brands can post about what’s trending to increase visibility. The primary principle of Twitter is to be part of a conversation and not just talk about yourself.


YouTube.

YouTube

Users: YouTube reports over one billion users worldwide. 30% of visitors from the US and 70% from the rest of the world. It is broadcast in 54 languages. No information on male/female balance.

How it’s used: YouTube offers users the opportunity to watch videos for free, or create and upload their own. Videos are easy to comment on, rate, and share on social media and blogs. Many of the users report using it like a super TV. They just go on YouTube when they’re online.

How you can use it: Create videos and upload them – sounds easy! YouTube is a great platform for creating videos of any length. So product overviews, tutorials, demonstrations, promotions, interviews, demonstrations and the rest can all go on. YouTube viewers are looking to watch interesting, creative, fun and informative videos. Your options are limitless and you can use it to reach that audience who don’t tend to use other online services.


Other platforms that are good for you to consider using are:

  • Pinterest
  • Linkedin
  • Instagram

More to come next post on these and a quick look at a few others as well.

If you’d like some input on improving your social media presence then please contact us.

mobile phone

Think Mobile

The Internet has changed it’s user interface over the last few years. It’s gone mobile. You probably noticed.

Do you ‘think mobile’ when creating content?

Do you check your pages and newsletters on your mobile before you publish?

If you have a website, a web shop, a web presence of any kind – it needs to speak to people using mobiles.

Tablets and smart phones are the main devices used to access the Internet now.

TVs are also used increasingly. They are different though because they access specific services rather than general websites and social media platforms.

So as a content creator you need to look at your text, images, videos etc on as many devices as you can. It can be a shock to see your work, that you’ve spent hours creating, looks a mess on a iPad. Especially if many of your potential market is using an iPad to access content.

Think Mobile

The same website working on three different screen sizes at once.

Think mobile first!

If you’re working with a developer (or team of developers) they will be telling you to think mobile first. It has become the buzz word at the moment in the online design industry.

Improves SEO.

Designing and creating for mobile first means you are automatically going to get a better SERP (search engine result position) than before.

Improves Accessibility.

Creating for mobile first means you will also be making your content accessible to everyone, regardless of device. This is very important.

Improves Design.

Designing for mobile is more challenging than for big screen so usually you have to work a bit harder to get it right.

Good for Business.

Mobile first design and development is good for business because it means your customers can access your products and services wherever they are. And whenever they like. As mentioned above it also helps search engine position which means more traffic as well.

Who knows what the future will bring but for now – think mobile!

There is a new zen of search engine optimisation

The new zen of search engine optimisation

There is a new zen of search engine optimisation

Things have changed for good. For the last 15 years or so there have been all sorts of tricks and dubious means of achieving decent results in search engine pages.

Now this has changed – the playing field is much more even.

There is a new zen of search engine optimisation…

it is simply, ‘quality’.

Web Content

Your site should be practically overflowing with good quality content.

Quality is paramount.

Meaning – if you can create interesting, unique, relevant content about your chosen subject – your pages will appear high in the search engine result pages (SERPs).

All the algorithms of the search companies have been updated to seek out ‘fresh, relevant, unique and interesting’ content.

So all website owners and creators can now focus on quality. Without feeling any need to compromise and use negative or dis-honest tactics in their web marketing.

The focus on quality can be spread throughout websites, social media, newsletters, videos and all publications.

This presents business owners and individuals with a fantastic opportunity to make a mark on the world wide web. And they make their mark by being individual and unique in content along with applying the right general principles for online success.

Tell your story.

So search engine optimisation has become much more accessible to all of us – because all of us have a story to tell about our products and our experiences. Each story is unique because we are all unique.

Audiences love stories and have done so since time began. So learn to tell the story of your products and of your business and help your customers to connect their story with yours. Think through their needs and their questions. Then create content that addresses these questions. Make it easy to use and access.

Reward your visitors and customers with timely news and updates.

Relationships are what build long-term trust. So as business owners its up to us to connect with our audience and help them negotiate the daunting world of online marketing.

Contact us about your website today >

Web design prices

Quick update.

Useful for planning and budgeting.

Please contact Tusler Design for a price for your project.

All prices are worked out on an hourly basis.

Some jobs cost a few hundred pounds and some cost several thousand pounds.

We know the top-line is important but the bottom-line is just as vital to success.

As a budgeting guide plan to spend £1,000 on a WordPress or similar site. Upwards of £2,000 for an e-commerce site.

Contact us about your website.

working together for shared aims in a purpose economy

Purpose economy

The ‘purpose economy’ is people and businesses working together to achieve common goals beyond simply making profits. Only heard about this recently but it is obvious isn’t it?

working together for shared aims in a purpose economy

working together for shared aims in a purpose economy

The Internet brought with it the ‘knowledge economy’. And now through mass use of communication tools like Twitter and Facebook over 1 billion people have internet access worldwide.

So knowledge has led to people recognising the inner need and the communal need for purpose in life.

Having a purpose is a powerful stabilising force in our lives.

A life without purpose is a bit like wandering round not knowing where you’re going or why. A friend recently described himself as a ‘busy fool’. The world is full of them it seems.

At Tusler Design we always strive to offer the highest quality, useful and conscious solutions we can for our clients. There is no need to compromise because often the ideal solution is also the most cost-effective.

West Wales (where we are based) is a bit of a hotbed of ‘purpose economy businesses’ because there are so many small companies here. The primary industries are agriculture and tourism so everyone is challenged to offer the best quality and best service they can. Because these are the things that bring customers back to buy again.

So you get all varieties of agricultural business and all sorts of small cottages, holiday lets, themed sites and the rest. Which makes for an interesting and enlivening combination.

Are you part of the purpose economy or just in business to make money?

 

customer care

Once bitten, twice shy

Buying online is easier than ever and lots of us are doing it. My experience is that its still very hit and miss.

Sometimes you order something and get sent something else. Or you want an item special delivery and it takes two weeks. You order something new and the company sends you a second-hand one. Sound familiar?

I bought a diary from a company that I’ve bought from for over 20 years. They sent me the wrong one so I mentioned it. They are sending a replacement and asked me to return the first one. So I now have to go to the post office to return it – so why bother buying online?. Anyway I crossed them off my list.

Bought a computer from a well known company (sounds like a fruit that keeps the doctor away). They sent me a used machine instead of a new one, registered to someone else. So when it broke and I took it to their shop the previous owner called the police. Two 200 mile round trips to the shop later they finally returned the machine. They are also off my list.

I’m coming to think that many online retailers don’t respect their customers (that’s you and me). Because otherwise they would be a lot more careful.

So I’ve decided to go back to my original approach to buying. And that is to buy locally or not at all.

Online retailers – don’t take your customers for granted because we’ll just move on.

customer care

Online Training

Thanks to higher-speed broadband connections we’ve been providing online training via Skype.

The advantages to the learners are they don’t have to travel to learn, saving time and cost. Also, the learners are ‘hands-on’ and able to practice new skills immediately in their own working environment.

trainingThe training subjects include:

  • using the Internet
  • using WordPress
  • updating websites and new pages
  • blogging and the different platforms
  • using social media effectively

So far this is all bespoke depending on the needs of the different client companies.

In 2015 we plan to put the training into formal courses available for roll-out to individuals and small groups.

If you’d like to know when this is ready please email us (info@tusler-design.co.uk) and we’ll put you on the list of interested people.

Is your site working for you?

Using analytics data for your decision making

Is your site working for you?Owners of websites can make huge improvements to the effectiveness of their sites by learning to understand their analytics user data.

Google’s own tracking tool ‘Google Analytics‘ is a fantastic piece of software that anyone can use to their advantage.

Adding Google’s Webmaster Tools to Google Analytics gives website owners and developers a broad and highly informative set of data tools.

All this data is there to help decision makers choose where to focus energy and investment to foster growth and expand reach and sales.

Since 2006 Tusler Design use Google Analytics along with Webmaster Tools to understand website users and how sites are attracting traffic from searches and keywords and phrases.

Web site designers and developers at your serviceTusler Design provide bespoke services in this regard to our clients. Services include full SEO and content creation based on keyword analysis and competitor analysis.

We provide training too

Tusler-Design’s services include training for business owners in using Google’s data tracking tools to their advantage. This includes using adwords to improve your site performance for both organic and paid searches.

Shapez

Shapez new website

South Wales based ‘Shapez’ can make anything using polystyrene and Styrofoam.

They use a clever hot-wire cutting machine linked up to a computer design system. Then they put beautiful stone, wood, painted or marble effect on. All rather amazing.

Tusler Design worked alongside the team at Shapez to develop the brand identity and new website. More to come in the next few months on this.

See their new website at www.epsshapez.com (link opens in new window).

shapez-s-shot

orissa designs

WordPress Website Examples

The wonders of WordPress as a CMS (content management system) website development tool.

Tusler Design use WordPress a lot. Its become one of the most useful pieces of software used in Internet development.

WordPress is so versatile it can be used for almost any type of website. It has a worldwide group of developers who make it and keep it secure.

Tusler Design recommend most new websites and website re-vamps to use WordPress if they’re not already using it.

Example WordPress Websites

Some examples of websites designed and developed by Tusler Design working with WordPress.

 

Orissa Designs

orissa designsOrissa Designs is owned and run by artist Tracey Jenkins. She specialises in producing art and shabby chic furniture.

The website uses WordPress and is linked to a PayPal account for  accepting payments for online orders. Tracey updates the site herself adding new items as her catologue grows.

http://www.orissadesigns.co.uk/

Camping at Mwnt

Camping at MwntTy Gwyn Farm and Caravan Park (on the cliffs above Mwnt in Ceredigion) wanted a new website and commissioned Tusler Design.

The website gives an instant feel for the unique and wonderful location of the site. To improve the search engine recognition of the website ‘CampingatMwnt.co.uk’ was chosen as the domain name. Site includes a blog and is linked to the Facebook page for Ty Gwyn.

http://campingatmwnt.co.uk/

Completeness

CompletenessCompleteness is the online home of Kasturi Tusler, creative artist and crochet teacher.

The website features her crochet patterns, video crochet tutorials, a blog, downloadable recipes for home cooking (including one for homemade deodorant!). This site is also linked to Completeness’ Facebook page.

http://completeness.co.uk/

Custom House Cardigan

Custom House CardiganCustom House Cardigan is owned and run by creative designer and artist Karina Servini. The Custom House is one of Cardigan’s oldest buildings and has an atmosphere all of it’s own. It now houses a gallery and shop where over 300 local artists and craftspeople have their work on display and available to buy.

The website uses WordPress alongside an e-commerce shop using Magento E-commerce System. The whole thing is integrated within the main website.

http://www.customhousecardigan.com/

Cardigan Bay Company

Cardigan Bay CompanyThe Cardigan Bay Company wanted a super simple site that could show some of their great designs and artwork that was also ready for them to build upon.

This is a fine example of using custom graphics with WordPress to create an instant impression upon the visitor.

http://www.cardiganbaycompany.co.uk/

HuwBryn

Huwbryn homepage screenshotHuwBryn is owned and run by Huw Jones of Bryn Farm near Cardigan in west Wales. HuwBryn produces specialised natural animal bedding for a whole range of pets and animals.

Visitors to the website can order varieties of combinations of natural meadow hay, straw and chippings for practically any animal kept domestically. Visitors can purchase products using PayPal.

http://huwbryn.com/

JR Fabrications

JR FabricationsJR Fabrications is owned and run by Jason Rice and are a welding and fabrication company based in Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire.

The website uses WordPress and features many examples and testimonials from clients of Jason’s. He updates and adds things to the website himself with the occasion bit of tech support from us.

http://jrfabrications.com/

Get your new website built in WordPress and enjoy the benefits of creating and publishing your own content whenever you like…

WordPress Promotion

Contact us now to get your WordPress website rolling.

Community success involves co-operation and collaboration.

Community, co-operation, collaboration and the Internet

Let’s get real here.

We all have to live in the real world – right?

The media and politicians present us with their own view of things but our lives go on whether we listen to them or not.

As members of society and of the world family we can be responsible for our own lives and our own actions.

Modern life involves using the web to buy things, sell things, learn things, exchange ideas, play games, meet new people and keep in touch with friends and family.

All of us can tell our story, give our ‘testimony’ online.

Community success involves co-operation and collaboration.

Community success involves co-operation and collaboration in order for everyone to be happy.

Community is essential

In real life ‘community’ is an essential part of a successful, harmonious, productive society.

‘No man is an island’ and all that. Surely its obvious that we are all benefited by making the effort to co-operate.

Another trite but wise saying; ‘Together everyone achieves more’.

On Mother Earth everything is provided, all we have to do is learn what our purpose is and make the most of our time here.

When we get isolated we can easily succumb to mental health issues, depression and general ill-health.

When we are able to be an active part of a community we function much better. We have support around us for getting through hard times.

Those of us who can help others, could and should help because all communities need active members to make them sustainable and ultimately to flourish.

Co-operation and collaboration are strengths

Through co-operation and collaboration individuals and small groups of people can use the Internet to achieve great things for their communities.

Often new groups go through a process of forming, storming, norming and then performing. So we should expect some listening on all sides before our communities can flourish.

And the basis of it all of course is mutual  respect, trust and ultimately transcendental love. But this is not the place for discussions on the more esoteric aspect of life as humans!

Tusler Design have been involved in communities since the late 1980s, Thatcher’s Britain.

Since the Internet revolution of the 1990s Tusler Design have worked with a consistent emphasis on developing community through working together using the Internet. This is with large, medium and small businesses, organisations and individuals. All our work is aimed at utilising joined-up thinking to help our clients.

“We’ve lots of experience in helping turn ideas into reality!”

So contact us today to talk about your community and your project. We’re happy to have the opportunity to work with you and your group no matter what the cause or subject.

Modern websites need to work on many different devices.

Make it work on all devices

Modern life: means using a desktop computer, a tablet, a smart phone, a web-tv or something else.

You want your website representing you to the best it can. This means making sure your site looks good and works properly for all users, no matter what device they are using. So they can contact you easily and access your services.

It’s not always easy but we’ve got lots of experience of making it work for clients like yourself.

Modern websites need to work on many different devices.

Modern websites need to work on many different devices.

Improve search engine ranking

Google has made it clear that they give extra weight in their search engine results pages to those websites that have been set up to work on multiple devices. Particularly mobile devices.

Get help.

Tusler Design work with our clients on a one-off basis or more regularly to help make sure everything is working properly on all devices.

We provide training, guidance, support and can do it all for you too if you like.

Contact Tusler Design today and we’ll work with you to get things right on all devices, on all platforms, all the time. So you don’t miss crucial sales calls and business opportunities.

 

wordpress logo

CMS like WordPress is best value

It might sound like a bold statement but using a content management system to run your business website is actually about the best value you can get.

Many clients (and clients of our friends who are web designers) say that the cost of updating, adding and improving their websites went down when they switched to using a CMS like WordPress.

The simple explanation for this is that once you’ve understood how to use WordPress’s publishing tools you no longer need to pay for all your changes and updates.

WordPress is very easy to grasp

Within one hour most clients are comfortable creating and editing new pages and new posts, adding links and images or whatever they need quickly and without needing to attend a long-winded training course.

Even use your smartphone to update

You can use your smart phone or tablet to add pages and posts. Upload images straight from your device, tag and publish them to your blog or news pages.

wordpress logo

WordPress is a very easy to learn and use tool for your content management system.

Hi-end web publishing for us all

We all benefit from access to high-quality web publishing tools nowadays without finding enormous budgets to run it all as in the past.

The Internet and accessible technology has given us the opportunity to present ourselves as we like to be seen.

So, if you have a mission to accomplish, a purpose, aim, target, goals, intention, idea, message or whatever; the Internet is the place to present it.

Use Facebook and Twitter to deepen connections with audiences

Inter-linking your website with your Facebook and Twitter pages gives your visitors and customers a ‘seamless’ experience and connection with you. So your dialogue can continue with your online followers and friends all the time – even when you’re asleep in bed.

Tusler Design can help you with your CMS

Tusler Design create websites using WordPress (and other systems) regularly and can help you set it all up and configure it correctly. Tusler Design also give you training and support in using WordPress and getting the most out of your system.

And use Google Analytics to see what is working

Tusler Design can help you use and understand Google’s great analytics system to improve your website’s performance and conversion rates.

Why not see for yourself?

Please ask about WordPress via the contact page.

And, if you already have a WordPress site and would just like some help, then please also ask via the contact page.

signs are useful to help guide your visitors

Websites as communication tools

Each website has a voice.

And the visitors listen to the voice. They do this by reading, or hearing, your text. They are influenced in this hearing, by the colour scheme, layout, type-set, and graphics of your website.

So use your unique voice

At all times keep in mind the idea of who you are talking to when writing your content. Imagine you are speaking to just one person; the reader.

Images are a powerful means of communicating

Your choice of images tell a story because, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” So, ask yourself, ‘What are you trying to say with these thousand-word images?’

signs are useful to help guide your visitors

Signs are useful to help guide your visitors but there is more to finding your voice and communicating effectively

Email enables direct communication and interaction without having to use the telephone or meet in person. You still have to remember your voice in your email communication.

And of course video telephony is available via Skype and other similar systems. These are an effective means of communication. Often Tusler-Design will communicate with clients over Skype. One advantage being it is instant and thus avoids long distance travel to attend meetings and briefings.

Social networks, (i.e. Facebook) are a great place to promote your messages and to interact with your ‘community’ as there is a balanced audience of male and female users. Twitter is mostly male (though not entirely) and has a different feel and emphasis to Facebook.

And lastly, it’s a personal thing

Your visitors will almost always be alone with you. Websites communicate with individuals and though you might have many visitors, few of them will be with someone else when they’re on your site.

So, why not make the most of the opportunity given us through technology and use the Internet to speak and communicate to your audience and the world at large?

Achieving success requires some planning

Ten fundamental principles for online success

10 fundamental principles to achieving online success

  1. Keep it simple. Speaks for itself doesn’t it.
  2. Be yourself. This applies to companies and organisations as well as individuals.
  3. Be unique. Promote your USP, your unique selling points on your website.
  4. Make it easy to use your site.
  5. Continually add fresh content.
  6. Maintain a blog about your industry or niche.
  7. Keep it positive.
  8. Clearly display your contact information.
  9. Be approachable. Allow your visitors to connect with you and keep up to date. This can be achieved via a newsletter email list, Twitter account or Facebook page.
  10. Keep an open mind. There’s always something new to learn to improve what you’re doing.

Join the mailing list and Pat will send you the 11th principle.

Huwbryn homepage screenshot

Natural animal bedding from Wales

Animal bedding experts ‘Huwbryn’ recently commissioned a complete overhaul and revamp of their website at Huwbryn.com.

Huwbryn homepage screenshot

Huwbryn homepage screenshot

Huwbryn supply a variety of premium animal bedding products, all grown on their family run farm in west Wales. Was a pleasure to work with them to develop the new site and animal bedding shop.

Fresh Mundos

Mundos supply gifts for discerning customers

Mundos (the high-street shop in Cardigan) has refreshed and re-launched their cool shopping site at mundos.co.uk. The store uses Magento ecommerce system.

The web site is hooked up to their EPOS system from the main shop using Talgara. So customers can buy anything they like in the online shop and know it’s available in stock – in real-time.

It’s a great example of a high-street shop making use of the Internet.

Visitors vs Qualified Visitors

There are two main groups of visitors to your website; qualified visitors and un-qualified visitors.

Qualified visitors being those people who come to your site and proceed to interact with, and do business with your company.

Regular ‘un-qualified’ visitors are those who engage with your web site but don’t buy anything or make any commitment by joining a mailing list or following you on Facebook or Twitter.

As you know yourself, real people visit sites for different reasons. It is possible to observe information about these real people by looking at the visitor data reports for particular web sites.

As a business person you are almost certainly interested in how your web site performs in relation to your bottom-line sales figures.

As the owner of a web site you are almost certainly interested in its traffic data. Meaning you are interested to know how many people have visited and how many pages they have looked at.

Beyond these overall figures there are further sources of interest. For example which pages have visitors looked at the most? How long are they spending engaging with your content?

Are they able to grasp the messages you want them to? Do they take the ‘call-to-action’ and contact you, join the mailing list, download the file or buy something from you?

Looking at the traffic data you can see trends or busy times for your site. You can see which terms visitors have used in search engines to find you. You can see which other websites on the Internet are linked to you and which give you the most traffic.

You can even set ‘goals’ in your data tracking to see how many times someone inquires, downloads a file, buys a product. And also when they make purchases you can see how they went through the buying process and if they stop you can see which page or form they left in-complete.

Over the long term you can use your traffic data to show which subject areas or themes your visitors are most interested in. You can then create more content for them and you can also point them to further calls-to-action to deepen their relationship with your company.

Philip Ling

Philip Ling Estates website update

Philip Ling Estates

Philip Ling Estates updated site.

Newcastle Emlyn estate agents Philip Ling Estates recently commissioned a complete overhaul and upgrade to their property web site at www.philipling.co.uk.

The web site features complete listings of their west Wales property database, showing only those properties currently available to purchase and to rent. Both commercial and private.

Users can search and review all the properties listed and can register and get email updates of new properties or changes to existing ones.

At its core the site uses property management software called ‘Open Realty‘ to control all its primary functions. The developers released a new version (number 3) which was completely customised by ourselves and our colleagues at SCL Internet Services in Cardigan.

The system is now fully editable by Philip Ling Estates in-house staff and is linked to Rightmove.co.uk where properties are simultaneously listed.

Marketing Your Website

There are several ways that you can market your website to the world at large.

A key marketing element is Search Engine Marketing which we’ll look at in more detail in the next article.

Use Your Analytics Data

It is important to remember that researching and monitoring your visitors and visitor statistics is essential in helping understand which of your marketing messages are working and which are not.

Social Networks

Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are notable online services where you can market your business, website, products and services.

Television and Radio

National and regional television and radio are arguably the most invasive and persuasive advertising tools available today. Although the BBC don’t carry adverts, ITV and Channel 4 and Channel 5 do. As do other channels of course.

Large promotional or e-commerce sites are sometimes advertised on television and radio in an effort to attract high volumes of visitors. Television marketing in particular has a significant cost implication.

Secondary routes to obtaining radio and television coverage are available through vehicles like talk shows, breakfast TV, cable and the news networks.

Endorsements

Celebrity endorsement can be a real catalyst to bringing awareness and coverage to your site. Of course obtaining the endorsement may require a major effort but it is often worth considering as part of a thorough marketing campaign.

Newspapers and Magazines

National printed media newspapers and magazines are potentially excellent methods of reaching target markets and can also provide exposure through feature articles and timely letters and comments to the editors.

As with television, advertisements in national media can be costly and need to be properly rationalised towards achieving an appropriate return on investment.

Local media newspapers and magazines are like their national brothers and sisters in providing excellent, targeted advertising and exposure of their readers to your messages.

Posters and Leaflets

Poster campaigns can have varying levels of impact. They are useful when carrying out national campaigns to reinforce messages that are appearing on television, in the media, or even through direct marketing of some kind.

Localised poster campaigns can have impact especially when their message is simple and easily remembered.

Door to door marketing using leaflets and flyers can be remarkably effective particularly if the message is very simple and there is some reward for the person who responds to the advert. For example this reward could be a special offer code that entitles them to a discount if they buy online.

An advantage of a flyer or brochure is that people can keep them as a physical reminder of your message.

Direct Mail and Telephone

Direct marketing using printed mail can be another key element in communicating your message although this method is best utilised in a targeted manner because of the potential large cost implication. For example, one million targeted letters at a cost of 33 pence per mailing amounts to a large bill (£330k). Investors using this method need to ensure there is a realistic likely return on investment.

Direct marketing using telephone can be effective but in the UK is not popular with many people and can have a negative impact on a marketing campaign.

Email Marketing

Direct marketing using email is another powerful tool but has been misused in the past and spam resulted.

The most effective method usual nowadays is to use ‘opt-in’ mailing list management tools where people give their name and email address and permission to send them emails.

Newsletters and Forums

Website Newsletter – this is an excellent way of regularly updating your visitors with relevant and interesting information. They register their email with you so you know they are interested in what you have to say.

Website communities and user forums – depending on the nature of your site a forum or notice board can be an amazing generator of repeat visits and lateral marketing leads. Giving your visitors and customers a chance to express their views can be a powerful tool.

Affiliates

Affiliate Marketing – this has two main categories;
1. Joining as an affiliate
2. Running your own affiliate program

Joining an existing affiliate programmed can give you the opportunity to link your site with many other commercial sites that offer related products and services.

When a user clicks through from your site you sometimes get a small commission. More often when a user from your site clicks through and makes a purchase or becomes a member then you get paid a commission.

Running an affiliate marketing programmed is no small task and may require employing one of the larger affiliate marketing companies like TradeDoubler to manage your affiliate marketing function on your behalf.

Word of Mouth

Word of mouth networking is as relevant to the Internet as in any walk of life. There is no substitute for a site that is recommended by a friend or colleague.

This principle can be used favourably by asking friends and loved ones to tell all their friends about your new site!

Events

Hold an event to launch your site and then host other events throughout the year to promote your website messages.

Web Design Technology

Web Design Technologies and Tools

Modern websites use a variety of software tools. Aiming to give users a good experience. And to give owners a return on investment.

Some of the many tools we use in our web design and development processes are listed below.

Google analytics

Google analytics is a fab web user information tool. Google’s tracking tool gives you in-depth information about the pages your users are visiting, how long they are spending, what keywords and phrases they are using to find you and much more. Google Analytics works perfectly with Adwords so you can monitor your pay-per-click advertising results and compare them against natural listings. Giving you a complete overview to reconcile with sales. Very powerful when linked to your e-commerce store to track conversion rates.

YouTube

YouTube is the video tool that changed the Internet. And perhaps the way we communicate. Posting videos of examples from your website gives you valuable exposure to a complete new audience online. You can use videos to quickly promote your products and services. Each video page on YouTube can be deep-linked back to your site. There are so many possibilities with YouTube.

facebook-logo

Facebook has changed the way we communicate. As a promotional tool Facebook gives you personal connection to customers and clients, all of whom have expressly ‘liked’ you. You can be more informal on Facebook than in other communications.

Twitter logo

Twitter is perfect for brief messages and updates. You can use Twitter to make short, quick news announcements and give your clients and customers a place where they can ‘get the latest’. Twitter also makes it easy for you to follow others in your industry or interest group.

WordPress

WordPress is our open-source content management system of choice. The functionality and flexibility of it make it a powerful website management tool and provide for many levels of dynamics and interation with users.

Magento

Magento is an awe inspiring open-source e-commerce platform. The amount of flexibility and ease of use are un-equaled in our experience of using shopping carts and online payment processing systems.

MailChimp

MailChimp is a perfect tool for managing mailing lists and newsletters. It enables tracking of emails opened and tracks click-through routes as well. You can easily see who has opened your email and who has also clicked on one or more of the links.

Zend Technologies

Zend is the perfect development platform if you need to build high-quality PHP applications quickly.

PayPal

PayPal is often the most straightforward method of receiving payments from your website. There are numerous other excellent payment gateways including Worldpay. SECpay and SagePay

adobe photoshop

Photoshop is still the fundamental building block for most new web designs. Also in-page graphics play an important part in creating the desired user experience on many sites.

dreamweaver

Dreamweaver has become more of a super ftp tool than an editor. It is still rolled out for some hard-coded web pages, scripting and editing cascading style sheets (CSS).

Monetising your website

money-monetise

Or – how can I make money from my website?

Could this be the most often asked question?

The simple answer to the question of how to make money through your website is – there are lots of ways.

A few proven methods include;

  • Selling items
  • Selling knowledge
  • Selling support / guidance / instruction
  • Displaying paid adverts
  • Displaying pay-per-click ads
  • Affiliate systems
  • Collecting donations

How you make your site pay is the next question.

Success in this involves understanding your visitors and what they are looking for on your website.

You can benefit from knowing how many visitors you have and what pages they are looking at. Also what search terms are they using to find your website.

Ask yourself some questions. “Is the site communicating with the right target audience? Is it giving the responses I’m looking for? Am I getting the number of sales I need to make a profit?”

If you’re unsure about what you could do to monetise your website have a look at some of these sites for ideas:

EBay – sell things and make money. http://www.ebay.co.uk/

Amazon – more than just books. You can affiliate in several ways. http://www.amazon.co.uk/

Google adsense – display Google ads on your site to earn revenue. http://google.co.uk/adsense/

Chitika – display user targeted ads. http://chitika.com/

 

Quick tip:

When people put the term ‘buy’ or ‘shop’ into a search engine they are usually ready to part with their hard earned cash.

So for example; If you sell hand made furniture you might put on your homepage a phrase like. “Buy hand made furniture from our online shop today.” You may also put in the page title. “Hand Made Furniture Shop – Buy Online Today”.

IT and business back-up

Back up your data

The single most valuable piece of business advice.

When I first started my own business I asked my late father, an IBM exec for 25 years, if he had any particular advice about information technology (IT) that he could pass on to me.

He told me that the single most valuable thing he’d learned in years of creating computerised systems for manufacturing and industry was simply the importance of backing up computer data every day.

Each new client would have to be shown the risks involved in not backing up regularly. The potential disaster in terms of loss of business data and sheer time trying to recover or restore data could be averted by simply carrying out the basic procedure of backing up.

External hard disk drive

External hard disks provide an easy and quick way to back-up data.

You may have already experienced the sinking feeling you get as you realise you’ve just lost that document you were working on because of the computer freezing.

Worse still you may have experienced your computer actually appearing to blow up during an electrical storm.

If you’ve backed up your data you’re in a position to get “back up” and running again without major stress and anxiety.

Nowadays all the major operating systems come with back-up software built in. Do you use yours?

Best practice

The best standard is to make three back-ups of your data.

One can be kept on-site, the other two ideally would be stored remotely in two different locations. This is in the event of some sort of major event like your office burning down or your being burgled.

Web site designers at your service

TD’s re-purpose as resource centre

It is now the intention of ours to develop the Tusler-Design web site as a business resource: both for owners of sites and people working on sites on behalf of the owners.

This means we intend to post regular, weekly updates to the new website.

Business focused information in easy to read formats

Each week we post;

  • articles based on our experience in web development
  • news snippets of relevance to website owners
  • insights and tips for improving websites
  • software reviews
  • marketing information
  • additions to our internet resource database

All aimed at giving you new and interesting angles, viewpoints and understanding.

In the course of our every day work we are constantly learning about ways to improve websites, attract more visitors, convert more visits into sales.

As the Internet becomes busier with more and more websites, site owners need to know how to keep improving.

How to get their staff to develop their websites to achieve the best results possible, and then improve again.

The reality is that the Internet is constantly changing as it grows and diversifies. Asking new questions of developers and designers to meet the desires of users.

It is often in facing and overcoming these challenges that progress is called and technology advances.

creative process

Our creative process

creative process

The governing principle in website design is to KISS

“Keep it Simple Sweetie”

 

With that in mind, we;

1. Listen carefully to the client.

We follow the principle of understanding the client, the brief, the need, etc. first.

2. Research and develop.

Once we understand the brief we research and discuss possible solutions and technology to fulfill the requirements of the client.

3. Design and populate.

Create a staging website where we and client can publish and test content and usability.

4. Revise and review.

Once the site is almost complete or at a working level we review and check that the new site fits the brief.

5. Go live and linked up.

Publish the website to the Internet and link it with our directories and other relevant sites.

6. Timely review.

At an agreed time we meet with clients to review how effective the site is and how it can be improved.

EPOS Shop

epos shop

EPOS Shop screen shot

EPOS (electronic point of sale) is a competitive market place.

We just re-designed http://www.eposshop.com if you want to have a look.

The project involved re-coding the entire website and re-writing all the content.

Ongoing now we are monitoring the search engine position of the site.

open source

Open Source

open source

Tusler-Design use and recommend open source software for content management system (CMS) solutions and for online shops. Open source has the advantage that it is being constantly improved by developers all over the world and is also free (or very low cost).

WordPress Blogging Platform.

WordPress is a fully customisable web publishing platform and content management system. We take the basic system and modify it for each specific client.

WordPress, like other CMS systems, enables contributors and editors to easily edit and update their website without needing to contact a specialist web developer all the time.

WordPress has thousands of widgets and plugins which make it suitable for a wide range of internet sites.

wordpress.org >

Magento E-commerce System.

Magento Ecommerce platform is the most sophisticated piece of shopping software we have seen. The fact that it is open source is even better.

Magento gives shop owners the ability to quickly display their products with clear images, descriptions, and prices; all linked to customer accounts and secure shopping carts.

Site owners then choose their preferred payment gateway and start selling online.

www.magentocommerce.com >

Ubuntu.

Ubuntu is a full featured open source, linux based operating system.

Not strictly a web development application Ubuntu is more like your Windows or Mac OS but is free and open source. Worth a look if you’re frustrated with Windows and your PC has slowed to a crawl.

ubuntu.com

The Open Source Initiative.

open-source-initiative

Open Source coding is not new to the Internet.

The Open Source Initiative began in 1998 and created one of the first web browsers; Netscape Navigator.

https://opensource.org/