Online Business

Your online world is just like being there

11th April 2011

Sunbathers were out in force in the UK this weekend as the schools finished for the Easter break and the sun shone brightly. The smell of newly mown grass filled the air and the slip-slap noise of sun-cream being applied could be heard up and down the country. Spring has …

The Guardian Soulmates Relaunch did not please everyone

How not to relaunch your website

4th April 2011

One in three people online have used an online dating service at some stage in their life. Indeed, a study a couple of years back showed that online dating is much more successful in finding a partner than traditional forms of dating, such as meeting people in a bar. It …

Web design is important but not that important

Your customers might prefer it if you got rid of your website

31st October 202629th March 2011

When was the last time you lingered over a site that looked rubbish? Similarly, when was the last time you spent ages working your way through a beautifully designed website that was rather like a wallflower – looked pretty, but did nothing? Great design that looks good, but does nothing …

Sometimes novices are better than experts

Encourage reviews from people who know nothing

24th May 201125th March 2011

Expert analysts are weighing-in with their criticisms of this week’s budget. They have crunched the numbers, run everything through Microsoft Excel and come up with the notion that the Budget has some problems. Well, blow me down! Who would have though it? Do you really need to be an expert …

Will the Dalai Lama and Bill Gates encourage you to join Twitter?

A thousand words is worth a picture

16th March 2011

Bill Gates and the Dalai Lama have something in common – they both joined Twitter in the same year. But will seeing their picture here encourage you also to join? The chances are, it will not. Indeed, knowing that there are thousands of celebrities who are on Twitter is of …

Be nice to your website visitors

11th March 2011

Hello, how are you today? I hope you are feeling fine and that if you have friends or relatives in Japan you are able to get some positive news. No doubt your thoughts are with everyone affected by this morning’s earthquake and subsequent tsunami. At times like this it is …

Make yourself ideal to your online customers

You should be ideal for your online customers

4th March 2011

Do your online customers love you? I mean really love you? The chances are your business is merely “acceptable” to your customers. Few businesses are loved, or adored by their customers. Indeed, for many customers you are not even the ideal business of your kind – you are probably just …

Tailor your website to increase success

1st March 2011

Smokers face a tough choice: give up cigarettes, improve their health and save money – or – avoid the battle of dealing with a strong addiction by carrying on smoking. For decades health professionals have struggled to ensure that smokers give up. Indeed, many people who smoke want to stop …

Boost your online business by avoiding stereotypes

31st October 202625th February 2011

Pen-pushing health and safety experts are being blamed for the latest “ban” to afflict children. In another example of “health and safety gone mad” children in in Oxfordshire are being banned from wearing goggles when swimming because there is the “danger” that these protective devices might snap onto a youngster’s …

Facebook obviously confuses businesses

23rd February 2011

Facebook is the most blocked website in the world. According to the annual report from OpenDNS, even though pornorgraphy is the most blocked category, Facebook is the single site which is picked out to be blocked more than any other. Indeed, only 1% of users of OpenDNS block Playboy, but …

Colonel Gaddafi shows you the route to online success

11th June 201121st February 2011

David Cameron is appalled at what Colonel Gaddafi has been doing in Libya. But it appears that what he is actually doing is sealing his own fate – the inevitable end of his regime. New psychological research shows that when people are faced with a choice, they inevitably focus on …

Size matters in the online world where bigger is better

31st January 2011

If your site has more pages, it is perceived – albeit in a rough and ready fashion – as potentially more valuable than a smaller site. It’s yet another reason as to why you need to be adding as much content to your website as you possibly can.

Being angry online could cost companies a lot

Take care – YOU could be the next Andy Gray

28th January 2011

The millionaire ex-football pundit, Andy Gray, faced a barrage of criticism and his inevitable sacking after making overly sexist remarks about women. His remarks have been both defended and attacked – whether you think this is “just banter” or the “thinking of a dinosaur” is not the point. What’s important …

Shock, horror – your online customers might not tell you the truth

26th January 2011

What was the last thing you downloaded? Was it a video, an ebook or a music track? The chances are you can remember what you bought online recently. But can you recall why you bought it or downloaded it? New research suggests that we think we know, but actually we …

Falling Comet reveals businesses are poles apart

31st October 201219th January 2011

You can bet that William Hill is enjoying the media coverage it is getting today. In spite of the bad weather at the end of last year, the betting business is banking extra takings and reporting much higher than expected profits. Meanwhile, over at the electrical retailer, Comet, they are