Mundos (the high-street shop) has refreshed and re-launched their cool shopping site at mundos.co.uk.

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

Mundos delivery charges are £3.95 for mainland UK. Orders over £50 get free delivery as standard.

Our friends over at Cardigan Island Coastal Farm park have completely re-vamped their web site at cardiganisland.com. The previous site was in place since 2005 and the owners wanted a new look and feel whilst keeping hold of the family centered identity of the farm park.

They have static caravans and facilities for camper vans, towing caravans and tents. Wonderful location, where visitors are treated to beautiful sunsets and seals and dolphins swimming in Cardigan Bay.

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

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.

Alpha Oak are based near Carmarthen and supply oak floors, doors and bespoke joinery.

Take a look and see how they’re embracing the world of social networks to market their family-run business. http://alpha-oak.co.uk/blog/

As web site owners we want to promote our business, organisation, cause or local group to others and these are some sure-fire methods we can use on social media sites to get our message across effectively.

Tip 1 – Spread the word

Spread the word using informal networks of real people. Sometimes referred to as viral marketing. Use your Facebook and Twitter page to let your friends, followers and subscribers what the latest buzz is in your world. Fresh information is a vital part of a successful web presence.

Tip 2 – Link up your social pages

Link your Facebook, Twitter and websites together using widgets so that your messages are consistent across your family of pages. Make sure your social media profiles link to your main website and your other media pages and blogs

Tip 3 – Be friendly

Make the most of your friends and subscribers liking you or your brand by using social media to be friendly in return. Give messages that are useful and add to your subject and profile. Peter Kay, the funny UK entertainer has a great approach on his Facebook page. He just tells you if he’s got a gig on or at Christmas he might give one funny line i.e. “I see DFS have got a sale on Boxing Day”.

Tip 4 – Post up-to-date items

Post up to date news using Facebook and Twitter to encourage viral sharing by followers through their likes and shares, thus exposing your message to your friends friends and contacts.

Tip 5 – Choose your name carefully

Get your vanity URL at Facebook and Twitter by carefully choosing a name or phrase you want to promote online. For example Tusler Design has the URLs facebook.com/tuslerdesign and twitter.com/tuslerdesign.

Tip 6 – Promote your brands with their own pages

If you’re involved in ecommerce consider setting up specific Facebook pages for your brands, sub-brands and categories. This allows your customers to be specific about what they particularly like about you, thus promoting particular aspects of your business to their friends.

Tip 7 – Reward your friends

We all like to receive gifts from time to time so try to think of rewards for your friends and subscribers – this could be special offers or the ability to pre-order items.

And remember – using social media in a responsible way enhances your website’s credibility with the search engines as an up to date and fresh source of information.

Smiling Face - worth a thousand words

A picture is worth a thousand words.

So which pictures work best on the Internet?

Often we can see that the use of face pictures is most powerful, especially if the person in the image is smiling. As human beings we are attracted and interested in other faces.

If a face is not appropriate then the image should show the subject in its best light. This is not to dupe or confuse the viewer but to give them the best and most interesting aspect to look at.

When buying online purchasers often like to see several views of an item before they click ‘buy now’. It is useful to give an overall image showing the entire item and then include detail shots showing clearly what is special about a product.

We tend to make buying decisions on irrational feelings which are then rationalised by the mind. Consequently we want to make our images as attractive and intuitively engaging as we can, so that visitors love what they see before they have any conscious thoughts of buying or owning the item.

Landscape v Portrait

Some years ago we learned that in general images in landscape aspect work better than those in portrait. It is difficult to know exactly why this is but if you look around the Internet you will see that most websites use the landscape aspect for almost every shot. Also we now have widescreen TV which is of course in landscape aspect.

Landscape v Portrait

Perhaps it is because our eyes are next to each other rather than one above the other? Whatever the reason, most of us enjoy landscape images and they seem to give the best experience to the viewer.

In printed media it has been known for some time that viewers of pages in magazines and newspapers scan the page in a Z shape. From left to right along the top, then down to the bottom left and across again from left to right. So you often see a graphical ‘tripping point’ in the bottom right corner of the page. This is intended to stop the eye from simply going on to the next page.

On web pages it is not so clear how the eye moves but there has been much research to suggest that users tend to scan a web page looking for something that engages their eye. This can be a word, phrase, link or graphic.

Often the top of the page is the most significant because if the visitor is engaged at the top of the page they have no need to scroll looking for what they want.

On larger web sites where information is in hundreds or thousands of pages or in a database then the ‘search’ function becomes very important and many users will go straight to the search box without even looking through the contents list or navigation. In this instance images need to underpin the messages and credibility of the site without detracting from the ease of use and quick access to the right information.

Like so much of life, business is not an exact science and communication is very personal and individualised.

In working for an artists collective a few years ago I realised that there is value in treating every piece of content, be it text or image, as if it were a person in its own right. With individual strengths and positive aspects to try and accentuate on the web site. After all the web is two dimensional and basically flat.

So the challenge is to bring some depth and quality to all the images used. And keep always trying to improve of course.

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.

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.

Meditation via the Internet - this is a 'heart meditation' graphic

Smart phones and tablets are seen as the new solution to bridging the ‘digital divide’.

Up to now there has been a rather large portion of the population who are not interested in the Internet.

The challenge for marketeers has been how to create products that connect these people with the Internet and the various services on offer.

Once the relationship is established with the new ‘consumer’ of data and services, Internet companies can claim another name, another email address, another potential revenue source, and keep it on file for later use.

Email addresses are considered assets of a business as they have intrinsic value. The value being that there is a person connected to the email address who may well have money to spend.

There are many legitimate and worthy business and organisations using the Internet in a positive and constructive manner.

The opportunity and ability to access the Internet need not necessarily be a bad thing. However, it is a well known fact that ‘you cannot please all the people all the time’ and no matter how many of us take to the Internet there will remain those who are otherwise inclined.

This is surely a good thing, or as humanity we might face the prospect of becoming homogenised, all plugged into our laptops or tablets or smart phones, compulsively checking our social networks for tid-bits of gossip.

Perhaps the Internet can become a powerful tool for assisting us in the very personal process of self-realisation?