Old-fashioned PR brings search engine benefits

A new study of online behaviour confirms that good old-fashioned public relations is essential in getting search engine results that people actually click on. The research, conducted by the search engine marketing firm, iProspect, reveals a significant “click behaviour” which every online business owner needs to take notice of. The …

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old man online

Internet marketers miss the target by miles

Marketing gurus tell as all the time that we need to really focus on our market; they say that “niche” marketing is even more important these days than ever before. Online, people expect to be able to find products and services that are directly targeted at them. Strange then, that …

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Banning Facebook will be counter-productive for businesses

A new report for the recruitment industry reveals a massive increase in the number of companies that are banning the use of Facebook at work. The survey shows that seven out of ten companies now have banning orders in place to prevent their staff from using Facebook. That’s double the …

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friends

The rule of reciprocity is alive and well on the Internet

Imagine you are at a business meeting where you know no-one. You have arrived, slightly nervous because you are alone. You wander over to the coffee table where another guest at the meeting is pouring themselves a caffeine-laden cup. As they do so they turn to you and say “would …

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Take care – blogging can kill you

Russell Shaw was a prolific blogger on technology subjects. I say “was” because, sadly, Roger died of a heart attack a few weeks ago at the age of 60. Marc Orchant, a blogger with the publishing giants ZDNet also passed away recently at just 50 years old, also from a …

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blogtrust

Don’t call your blog a blog….!

Blogging is little more than what we have all done for years down the pub – chatting to people. A blog allows you to hold conversation with your readers and chat away, just like the “real world”. For businesses this can be a bonus; it can help spread “word of …

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Social networks attract children not adults

Children are signing up to social networks in their thousands. According to a significant research study by Ofcom half of children over the age of eight have a social networking account and profile. This is in spite of the fact that the networks themselves set an age limit of 13. …

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Corporate social networks can dramatically improve your business

Social networking is still seen as something teenagers do. But it is actually a natural human activity merely taken a technological twist. We are social animals by our very nature, so anything that allows us to socialise online is bound to be successful. And that theory is now being put …

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Psychologists prove Google is almost human

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have been pitting the wits of Google against human volunteers. Their study looked at the PageRank of words searched for on Google and compared them with a list of words produced by volunteers. The research, published in Psychological Science, confirms my view that …

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maleface1

Is your face on your web site?

Is your face on your web site? Mine is. However, I’ve started to worry about that. The other day, somebody told me that they rated a web site on whether or not the faces that appeared on it were “smiley”. If the faces were serious looking business types, they didn’t …

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Trust – it’s all important on the Internet

How much do you trust the web sites you visit? You trust the BBC perhaps? Or you could trust Google to deliver the goods. Or maybe you trust Amazon? But whichever sites you trust, you probably have a “gut instinct” for some sites you visit that makes you doubt their …

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The World has changed: did you notice?

Two new pieces of research confirm what we probably already knew: younger people see the Internet as their primary source of information. One study, reported by Reuters, shows us that the Internet is the main source of news for people aged under 30 years. A second piece of research by …

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Your Mum is frightened of the Internet

Mums all over the UK should have had a peaceful and enjoyable day yesterday – Mother’s Day, of course (hope you didn’t forget!). Many of the nation’s Mums will have received flowers and chocolates, of which a sizeable proportion will have been ordered online. Indeed, without online florists and present …

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Social networking is market research

Many businesses are put off social networking sites. They feel that such sites distract staff from getting on with work. They think that social networking sites, like Facebook or MySpace are some kind of security risk for their business. Or they just think these sites are for bored teenagers and …

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