If your business doesn’t have a website, then you do not have a chance.

If you don’t have even a basic website up and running these days, your prospective customers and clients are going to have a hard time seeing you as being relevant. I mean, in this world of web, mobile, app this and that, social network blah blah blah, how on earth can you not be online with your business?

And, if you don’t have a blog attached to your website, those same prospective customers and clients aren’t going to have a chance to learn about your expertise, and about the human side of your business.

55,000,000

That’s how many blogs there are (in the world) at the time of this writing.

And, those are only WordPress blogs. There are millions of other blogs that are on other blogging platforms like Typepad, Drupal and Tumblr.

Now, you can let that number motivate you, or you can let it freak you out-it’s your choice. (Personally, I hope that it gets you motivated to get a blog up and running right now.)

Blog Benefits

Visibility

Your visibility-especially online, will increase with a blog. The more you write, the better the chances are that you’ll get noticed. And, not just by your potential customers/clients. Reporters, writers, and PR people read blogs too.

SEO Search engines love fresh, new content. Search-engine spiders-those little robots that are scouring the web, 24/7, get energized when they locate something new…especially if it’s closely related to the words that are being searched by your customers/clients.

Active blogs…ones that have at least 1-2 original posts published weekly, provide that fresh, new content that search engines crave, which in turn, can increase your company’s chances of being found online by your target audience.

Cred .You need some. If you don’t come across as being a credible source of information, your customers are going to have a difficult time opening their wallets up to you…your business.

A great way to show just how much you know is to write about it. These days, there’s no better way to do it, then on a blog.

New opportunities

Once you’ve been writing posts-articles of your own on your own blog for a while, you can start approaching others in your industry, or even a related one, and write a blog post for them. (A guest post)

Writing an article on someone else’s blog can provide you an opportunity to showcase your knowledge to an entirely new reader base. (And, possible new business opportunities and/or strategic partnerships.)

Just make sure that your post is informational and helpful in nature-not promotional. (You’ll get an opportunity to promote yourself-your company at the end of your post, along with a link to your website or blog*.)

Keeps your head in the game

There’s something to be said for writing your thoughts down, as opposed to verbalizing them or keeping them in your head.

You know things that others don’t. Why would you want to keep those things inside of you?

Do you have an idea that potential customers/clients can put to good use right away? Share it through a blog post. Do you have some opinions about your industry…and what needs to be changed to make it even better? Consider sharing those opinions on your blog. (Only if you’re comfortable doing so.)

Having an active blog keeps your head in the game-your game…your industry.

Thousands of articles…blog posts…have been written over the years on the importance of having a blog. If you don’t have one yet, what are you waiting for?

No more excuses

If you don’t consider yourself to be tech-savvy, have no fear. There are literally thousands of talented designers and programmers that can help you set-up your blog. It’s not expensive either, so scratch that one off your list of excuses of why you can’t do this right now.

If you haven’t written anything of substance for a while, don’t sweat it-I have a solution. Start a blog, and start writing. You’ll get better. Just keep writing.

And, if you think that no one will read it, you’re just plain wrong. Do you have any friends? Ask them to read your blog. Do you have employees? Do the same with them, and ask others in your industry to read it, too. Add a link to your blog on your main website. Do you have a LinkedIn account? Add a link there, too. Think of some other places that you can include a link to your new blog. And, before you know it, you’ll have a handful of readers.

That’s all you need at the beginning.

The more you write the more interest you’ll garner. Your early readers will start to share your posts with others. They may start reading your blog…they may even subscribe for free to receive your newest blog posts.

Have I succeeded in convincing you to start a blog?

The post Do you have a blog? appeared first on Web Design UK :: Specialist in Web Design, Online Marketing, SEO & E-commerce Solutions.

At one single time, YouTube says that they had over 500,000 livestreams going at the same time.

That aforementioned partnership with NBC (YouTube powered NBCOlympics.com) saw over 159 million streams.

And it wasn’t just live streaming video that saw a spike in views. The TeamUSA channels saw 6.75 million views of their behind the scenes coverage.

Youtube also talks about a 7X improvement in quality “based on low buffering and high frame rates” for live video. I’m not sure that I noticed that much of a difference between Olympic streams and other streaming content on the site, but I guess I’ll take their word for it.

Facebook and Twitter also released their own Olympic Games stats. Facebook says users generated over 116 million Olympic-themed communications, while Twitter announced more than 150 million Olympic-themed tweets.

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Additionally, Google has recently said that some sites that sell links may end up being dropped from its search engine or have penalties attached to prevent them from ranking well.

Many people may question the fairness and correctness of this approach, however:

It’s Google’s search engine. They can say that if you sell links, they might punish you.

Google is not telling people what they should or should not do  with their websites. Google is simply telling people what to do if they are concerned about doing better in Google.

If you do not care about Google the sell all the links that you want.

The post Don’t get caught with paid web links appeared first on Web Design UK :: Specialist in Web Design, Online Marketing, SEO & E-commerce Solutions.

If you are looking for help for a website for your church, temple, mosque or other group, then we will be pleased to help you at our preferential rate for this type of service.

Recognising the value that religion offers society and the services and support that such groups provide both locally and nationally, we will be pleased to serve you at a very competitive and reduced rate.

With a variety of options available including images sliders, full content management, video incorporation for sermons and other outreach efforts, calendars to promote your events and many other options, we guarantee that our capacity to offer preferential and reduced rates for your religious group will not be matched by anyone else.

For more details on our church website design service please contact us with your requirements.

The post Church Website Design appeared first on Web Design UK :: Specialist in Web Design, Online Marketing, SEO & E-commerce Solutions.

This example is true of every search that occurs in Google (and other search engines) – it is also true of how you set your site up in terms of keywords, titles, text and other content.  The way that you search or think others should search for your site – IS NOT the way that they will.

You must research and consider the various options and phrases that people use, you need to consider the competition of those phrases (ie how many other sites rank for them) and you also need to understand how often those phrases are searched for.

A good place to start is with Google’s free keyword checker .  Use this tool to establish the best phrases to use in your site content to help with your seo.

The post Search Terms appeared first on Web Design UK :: Specialist in Web Design, Online Marketing, SEO & E-commerce Solutions.

1. The perfect link is both high-authority (in other words, many people link to that site) and highly relevant to your industry/audience.
2. That said, a natural link graph will include links across the spectrum.
3. Make good use of internal linking – linking to other, related pages on your site within your content.
4. Optimize anchor text for internal links – for example, hyperlink the words “SEO guide,” not “click here.” Use absolute links, not relative links – that way if your content gets “scraped,” the links back to your site are preserved.
5. Ask employees to link to your site from their own blogs, websites, or social media profiles.
6. Generally, links in the body text of a page are more valuable than footer or sidebar links.
7. Use Google Alerts to keep track of mentions of your company and products.
8. If someone cites your company or one of your products without a link, write and ask them to add one.
9. Offer to write guest posts for related blogs in your space, especially those with strong followings and high-value domains.
10. Include deep links in your guest posts – that is, links to more specific pages, not just your home page.
11. Send guest posts with links already coded in, with your preferred anchor text. Editors won’t necessarily code in a way that’s optimal for you.
12. Offer to write a testimonial for a product you love, and ask for a link in return.

The post Link Building appeared first on Web Design UK :: Specialist in Web Design, Online Marketing, SEO & E-commerce Solutions.

(Not to worry, you do not need to know how to code or design in order to use this tool).

Did we mention that it is 100% free?

To add your website as a new tab on your Facebook Page using Pagemodo you will need to utilize the iFrame tab option. This option almost magically allows you to pull your website information and display it right on Facebook. Best part, once you have connected your website using this option, it will automatically update every time you publish/update your website!

Benefits of adding your website to Facebook Fan Pages:

1. Gain new website exposure by showcasing it to fans  that haven’t seen it before
2. Create a more professional look and feel for your Fan Page
3. Increase website interactions via:
   1. Web store purchases
   2. Appointment Setting
   3. Forms
   4. Much more!

Just think, anything that potential visitors can do on your website, now Facebook fans will be able to do right on your Fan Page.

How to get started:

1. Got to Pagemodo: http://www.pagemodo.com and create an account for free.
2. Click on the “New Tab” option from your dashboard and select “Simple Themes”.
3. Select “Custom iFrame” tab option and go to the “Edit Content” step.
4. Now all you have to do is insert your URL (website address) into the form presented on the page. PLEASE NOTE: When entering your website URL don’t forget to add “http://” portion of the address.
5. Save and Done!

It really is that simple. It is free, easy and can increase the number of qualified visitors to your website. Why wait?  Publish your page to Facebook today and improve your online visibility.

The post How to publish your website on the Facebook Fan page appeared first on Web Design UK :: Specialist in Web Design, Online Marketing, SEO & E-commerce Solutions.

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Google is the number one search engine in the UK

It is widely accepted that UK web users just don’t use any other search engine.  Google is by far the market leader in UK web search engines and it’s popularity just keeps on increasing.  If your site is not working well in Google then you are losing out to your competitors.

80% of people visit a website before visiting a store

Have you ever driven past a store you thought was pretty cool but gone home and looked up their website before visiting the store? I do it all the time. Your business must have a well designed website in order to cover all of those people who look at the website before making contact or visiting you.

A good website can create loyalty

Does your website create repeat business for you?  A well crafted site can help your sales by developing loyalty in your customers. It might be a mailing list or a blog or even a Twitter account, all of these things are ways to send out specials and incentives for people to come back into your store. And its a heck of a lot cheaper than other forms of print advertising.

Shot Media can help your business to make more money by ensuring that your website meets the needs of Google – that it works properly and tickles Google’s fancy.

Why not give us a call to explore how we can help you online?

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