The Internet World is all about relationships

Your friends like you; honest, trust me, they do. If they didn’t like you, then you wouldn’t like them and, hey, you wouldn’t be friends. Web sites are the same; if they demonstrate they like you – by providing exactly what you are after – then you like them. It’s …

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Joined-up marketing is essential online

BBC Radio FiveLive carried an interesting item on the news this morning from Sony BMG that they are making their entire back catalogue available as a “free to listen” service. Wow – that’s great, you might think. But this is another example of how big business still has not understood …

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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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You can sell anything online

People often ask me if their business could operate online. Many business people fear that their service or product would not translate well to the online world. But I tell them that I can’t think of anything that is impossible to sell online. After all, if just a few years …

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Your online business needs insurance against problems

If your online business suffered a problem, would you be able to cope? I don’t mean problems like not getting enough traffic or not getting to the top of the search engines. What I mean is something that would actually prevent you from doing your work. What if you were …

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New report reveals the secret of online success

Every once in a while a report comes your way that makes you wish you had written it yourself. A new report from Paul Smithson, the founder of the XSite Pro web design program is one such document. The report is the first in the “Real Reason” series and focuses …

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Domain names are really important – but companies don’t seem bothered about them

People often swap web site names between each other. They tell them to their friends, neighbours, colleagues and so on. Think how difficult it would have been for Google if their web site name (domain) had been something like “www.automatedsearchenginesystemnotrelyingonhumaneditors.com”. And what about people who try to recommend web sites …

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Online businesses need to provide even more information

How many times have you ventured into an online store, only to find that you can’t get as much information about a company’s products or services as you would like? Only yesterday I wanted to know if my new video camera could take certain memory cards. Was that information in …

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Is your online business ready for your employees?

Universities are pumping out technically literate graduates at a rapid rate. Indeed, you probably can’t even do a degree in Ancient Greek these days unless you are competent using online search methods, for instance. In other words, everyone joining the jobs market nowadays is technically competent. Until a few years …

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You think business uses the Internet? Think again.

Small business owners are seriously bad at using the Internet. Two pieces of research combine to show that significant numbers of small business owners and those running medium sized enterprises are simply not aware they are missing out. For a start, research commissioned by “The Best Of” chain of web …

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Think small for Internet business success

Small business owners are at a real advantage online – providing they emphasis their “smallness”. Many people set up an online business to help them look big – but this could be working against them according to a new study in the USA. It seems that people trust small businesses …

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Young entrepreneur shows us how to run an online business

Mark Berriman has just been named as a “Young Business Person of the Year” for his Viverdi company based in South Tyneside. Working in two distinct areas – pet supplies and gift drinks – the company is set to bring in £2.6m this year, with growth predicted to £20m within …

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