The Benefit of Online Directories

Print, radio, television and traditional advertising mediums are beginning to fall off the map while the internet is taking over. Advertising online, on mobiles, tablets and PCs is fast becoming the only advertising needed for small and large businesses alike.

These days, everyone and everything has an internet presence, from Facebook and Twitter to websites and the increasing media of online directories.

The internet and its ease of use, has made it quicker than ever for people to find a local business and its contact details, while  also researching their work and reading reviews.

Online Directories are now the place where all of this important information can be found. Sites like Bath Business Web, Freeindex and Scoot help businesses connect with potential customers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and joining an online directory has been proven to be one of the most effective tools to help a small business’ website get noticed on the web.

Online Directories perform especially well with “longtail search terms” which are more detailed or descriptive phrases that people use to search for something or someone online.
For example: “Walcot Street Italian Restaurant”
Because the listings in the directory are usually comprised of these terms, or very similar, and comprise of categories, sub categories and keyword descriptions they perform very well in online searches.

Having your business website linked on the listing is also very beneficial, forming a “backlink” from a well-known and trustworthy source, further driving your website’s results up in Google. It also brings more traffic to your site and gives a better chance of you being contacted by a potential customer regarding your services.

Many of our directories category pages have front page results on Google, meaning that certain search terms, such as “autolocksmith bath”, will bring up the Bath Business Web Online Directory. In one morning, we received four phone calls regarding services registered on our directories, had we any registered businesses on these categories – they would have received those calls instead!

Online business directories are getting better and better, giving local, immediate results to potential customers. With the internet unlikely to be going anywhere, it is vital that small businesses invest time and money into an online presence, including social media, websites, online directories and other forms of online advertising.

What success have you achieved from online advertising such as directories? Do you ask your clients where they found you? How do you track your online responses? 

Bath Business Web Ltd – Professional Web Design & Bath’s Premier Local Online Directory.

Social Media - Common Mistakes That Can Cost You Business

Social Media is proving to be incredibly important to businesses, large or small. Every time you send a tweet, update a status or publish a blog, you are creating something that is made for the world to see. Engaging with current and future clients, sharing knowledge and becoming an online presence can be conversational, fun and highly profitable. 

However, making silly mistakes such as spelling and grammar, or publishing inappropriate content or content not relevant to your business can be worse than having no social media presence at all. Remember, what goes on the web, stays on the web. 

TOP TIPS

Spelling & Grammar

Inappropriate  & Relevant Content

As a business, you need to beware of being associated with certain opinions that may cause your business or reputation harm by putting off potential customers. People use your Facebook or Twitter to get to know the person behind the business, be sure they like what they see. If you don’t want them to see your private information, set up a completely separate profile. 

• Avoid overly political views, pictures, rants  – debate a news story if it is relevant to your business, the local area or trade but avoid being too one sided.
• Don’t swear, post offensive pictures or comment on other peoples posts in an offensive manner.
• Keep photos relevant to your business, staff, locations etc. ( Ask your staff first before posting any pictures of them)
• Avoid directly "bad-mouthing" other companies. If it is a complaint regarding services, contact them directly. If it is a company in direct competition with yours, they will come off better in the long run.

If you aren't sure if a post or tweet is appropriate for your business, then it probably isn't. 

Bath Business Web Ltd - Professional Webdesign, Professional Results.

Website Content: Colour

Colour Matters for your Business

Colour plays a very important role  in the world we live in today. Colour can change actions and affect thinking. It can sooth or irritate your eyes, suppress your appetite or raise your blood pressure.
Colour is irreplaceable - therefore, colours used for a product, website, business card or logo can cause powerful reactions. To a potential customer, your marketing materials are the first impression of your business or product. Giant corporate businesses will spend huge amounts of money on colour market research and have discovered that people make a subconscious decision about a product or environment within minutes of viewing, largely based on colour alone.

Colour References

When deciding on colours for your brand or website, keep in mind the different reactions that people have to colours:

RED - danger, passion, energy, warmth, stop
PINK - love, femininity
ORANGE - stability, reassurance, warmth
GREEN - nature, energy, calming, go
BLUE - soothing, loyalty, protection
YELLOW - sunshine, energy, happiness
PURPLE - creativity, fertility, joy
BROWN - security, stability
WHITE - youth, cleanliness, pure
BLACK - drama, eccentricity, elegance

Colour & Websites

We've all had to deal with websites with unpleasant colour combinations. Although the colours used may be the owners favorite colours or colours from the business logo, they are either very hard on the eyes or make the text difficult to read.
Using too many colours, or the wrong combination of colours could turn off your potential buyers completely. On average, you should choose three colours (or shades of those colours) at the most. Match them with the rest of your brand, as using colours from your existing brand makes your website more recognisable and gives consistency.

Pick colours for your target market. Who is your target market? What do you want to say? How do you want to say it?
As the owner of your business, you should know your target market - demographics such as gender, age and location play an enormous part in business and marketing.
Ask friends, family and colleagues what colours they feel are suitable for your type of business, experiment and try to see patterns in your results.
If your target market is 40-50 year old females from Bath, ask them what colours they find attractive. It really is that important.

You want people to view your website. Remember, it's easy for your visitors to press the back button.

Professional Websites with Professional Results - Bath Web Design

Website Content: Testimonials

Anyone can say their business offers a great service or product. But potential clients want proof. They want to see endorsements from happy clients that have received a quality service. And the more quality endorsements you have, the better.
Testimonials from your best clients are a great addition to a website, along with photos of the work completed.

1) Who?
Note I said “best clients" above. Pick clients that are most like the people you want to work with in the future.
If possible, use people with "influence", such as other business owners, or individuals that have a recognisable name.
Choose clients whose testimonials will highlight the key aspects of your business and your key selling points - as always, know your target market and what they are looking for.

2) What?
What was it like before they used your services? - define the problem.
What was your business like to work with? - talk about specific work you did with them, how they feel about the work, how it was carried out, how you were different from other businesses.
What specific results were achieved? - The more specific, the better and proof of the value of your service.

3) How?
Based on your business size, you should have a list of between 10 and 50 previous or existing clients that you feel that you can contact. You can contact them via e-mail, phone or in-person - depending on your relationship with them. They can choose whether to have their full names, business names etc used. If they are not interested, thank them and say goodbye.
If you decide to meet in person then a video testimonial can be an interesting way of presenting it. But you must ask the client if they are comfortable with it, use the right equipment and be sure that it can be shared in the correct way.
The testimonial needs to be easy to read, short but sweet sentences. Summarise your clients words using direct quotes and capturing the essence of what was said. Share the finished testimonial with the client, ask if it reflects their experience and that they approve.

4) Where?
Put your testimonials where people will see them! Your website, printed promotional materials and signage are the best places. Review your testimonials and keep them appropriate and up to date.

Add pictures, format the text and spell check!

Lastly, thank your clients. A handwritten note stating where the testimonials are published and maybe a small gift is a good way to show your appreciation and hopefully ensure that they come back to you for more business.

Bath Business Web Ltd - Professional Web Design with Front Page Results - Take a look at OUR testimonials here http://www.bathbusinessweb.co.uk/Static/Testimonials

Website Success

Over the last 7 years, Bath Business Web has strived to achieve hundreds of successful websites with successful front page results. The search engines and algorithms of Google have become a mine field, particularly in the last 12 months with the arrival of Google Panda and Google Penguin changing the way that websites are being displayed within search results.

There are many people with different levels of knowledge regarding the Internet and websites and with the internet unlikely to disappear anytime soon, it is important to take the building of a website seriously and remember that first impressions count.

Over the years we have spoken to hundreds of large and small business owners who seem baffled as to why their website does not appear in the first two pages in Google. Unfortunately, there seems to be a high level of businesses who have not achieved the success on the Internet they thought they would.

All we can do at Bath Business Web is advise and take experiences from the hundreds of people we have come into contact with.
A website for your business is there to help and increase your profits by supplying you with new clients or even existing where they check out your portfolio. Once again, this will determine whether they feel. Here are some tips on Website Success:

1) Seek professional advice; companies that can display and demonstrate success with previous clients and have no problem in proving front page search results. Ask to be shown a Google Analytic report of website traffic and statistics.  Look at “bounce rates” of their previous websites and determine whether this is a high percentage, meaning that users are looking at the website and disappearing.
2) Be wary of using cheap build your own website templates, as websites aren’t just built for “pretty pictures”.  The cheap templates that you can use e.g. “build your own website” usually come with catches or clauses and don’t provide the standards you would want for your business.
3) Very seldom have clients been able to demonstrate success at having their website built on the cheap (where the phrase is often followed by “my brother, auntie, uncle, sister, mate down the pub did it for me”). Remember if you have a toothache, you don’t get your brother, auntie, uncle, sister, mate down the pub to put a filling in for you. This should also apply when you decide to have a website built for your business.
4) Please ignore the myth of throwing in key words and thinking that Google will recognise them and place your website on the front page. These theories were forgotten 10 years ago. There is a series of intelligent coding behind the scenes of a website which Google will identify when assessing the quality, content, navigation and the value of a website. Google now pays particular attention to spam.
5) Be aware of social media and how important a part it plays when bringing traffic to your site and often in search engine optimisation.
Use the experts at Bath Business Web, who are on the front page results for “seo bath” and “search engine optimisation bath” “website design bath” and “web design bath” from millions of results. This brings success for themselves and their clients.

Pay For Professionals. It works.

The perfect online portfolio (and why you need one)

Whether you're a tradesman, a designer, an artist or a musician, your website is the most important tool you have to get recognition, awareness and, ultimately, new work. 

Stand out from the crowd

Don't believe me? Google your inspirational artist, your nearest business rival or your favourite restaurant. They'll certainly have a website, chances are it's been designed by professionals and carries their branding and products alongside their contact details. A designer may have a beautifully constructed gallery, a builder may opt for carefully worded project pages and images of their work. 

Be proud of your work
 
This online presence is a vital tool. Everyone is expected to have a website.  
A basic single page with a name and phone number on will do as a web presence, but the more professional your site, the more professional you seem. 

A high quality website with great content and an intelligent design speaks louder than words about the reputation of your brand.

So invest in your online presence - its the most important marketing tool you have!

For professional websites and top quality web support, contact us today and mention our blog!

See also:
Social media mistakes you don't want to make
Businesses, say hello to responsive web design

Social media mistakes you don't want to make

Social media is everywhere. Any web page you visit will almost certainly encourage you to tweet, like or pin its content. Companies are creating brand new forms of advertising to cater for the social media networks. Engagement with social media is at an all time high and even countries that have banned certain sites like Facebook are showing massive growth.

source Wikimedia Commons

Businesses are rapidly finding out that social media can mean increased brand awareness, growth of their client base and relatively low cost yet effective marketing. Clever companies have used social media to launch viral videos, competitions and stunts, driving up their popularity. 

 

source Wikimedia Commons

 
There are however, some risks when you introduce social media to your business strategy. A single misstep or innocent blunder can render your brand a laughing stock. So before you dip a toe into social media as a business, read the tips below...

3) Check, check and check again
One of the most attractive parts of social media is the ease of use. Type a short, pithy comment about your business, possibly with a picture attached, click one button and voila! The latest piece of marketing gold has been launched into the twittersphere. The disadvantage of this, however, is that a few moments of not concentrating, a moment of bad judgement and you have launched something that will cripple your reputation and never, ever be lost, because once information is on the world wide web, it is never lost.

Enter American firm KitchenAid, who allowed an astonishingly bad taste joke about the president's deceased relative to find its way onto their twitter feed. A quick fire round of retweets later and the company was in hot water, with many public apologies and hurried denunciations made over the following days. The damage was done however, and despite the company deleting the tweet almost immediately, echos of it will be floating online as a cautionary tale long into the future.

 

source Wikimedia Commons

2) You hold your company's reputation in your hands
If you've been in marketing for more than five minutes, you'll know that reputation is everything for a brand. Without a rock solid reputation for honesty, good choices and quality, growing a business is nearly impossible. Throughout your marketing you will have been developing your company's image. Badly thought through social media campaigns can turn all that to ash in a surprisingly short amount of time.

So it was for The Redner Group, who oversaw the launch of much loved shooter Duke Nukem's long awaited new release, 'Duke Nukem Forever'. The PR section posted a public statement on twitter that appeared to threaten to withhold new review copies of titles from outlets who gave the game a poor review. The backlash from fans, reviewers and the larger industry was deafening, leaving the company's reputation for fairness in tatters. 

1) You may loose more than you think
Social media mistakes can have wide reaching consequences. A slip up (or gross stupidity) may cost you money, time and possibly your job. Worst cases may even result in legal consequences. Again, this often comes as a result of impulsive posting behaviour, but in some cases what may appear a silly, harmless prank can lead to disaster when they hit the public forum.

Two employees at a New York branch of Domino's Pizza learned this the very hard way when they posted a video they filmed showing various misbehaviours at work on YouTube and the social media networks, quickly coming to the attention of their bosses. The evidence of their antics was slammed as 'disgusting', caused a major dent in Domino's reputation for hygiene and standards and swiftly led to the sacking of both the stars of the show. If that wasn't enough, both of them were brought up on legal charges for various health code violations. 

source Wikimedia Commons

So when you embrace social media for your business, embrace also the lessons to be learned from these and the countless other similar stories on the internet. Remember, with great social media power comes great responsibility...

See also:
5 Small business secrets...
The battle of the browsers...

website design and online directory listings

Weekly Update

It's been a busy week at Bath Business Web! Firstly, as part of our web design package, we give customers support and maintenance for their websites as well as doing the design and hosting work. 

That means our customers can come to us and discuss updates to their content, such as adding videos or testimonials, as part of their support contract. Our team make constant tweaks and changes in line with customers needs. When you have over 300 clients that means an ongoing stream of work for our web designers and information writer (aka me!).We love it though, keeping their websites fresh and performing well is the core of the business. 

Along side those small changes, every so often a customer needs a major overhaul on their website. They may be shifting their business focus in a new direction or re branding, whatever the reason we are more than happy to take on redesigns and rewriting. 

Finally, we are always pushing for new growth and that means new clients. Our custom built websites are focused entirely around the customers business and their expectations. The finished product is checked and approved by the customer before it goes "live". 

So I am pleased to share with you the revamps and new sites we have finalised this week.

Patrick from Just Carpentry popped in and discussed his existing websites from us for Bath, Marlborough and Trowbridge. A content overhaul was in order and we were pleased to have everything up to date for him by the end of the week.

Chris Pritchard Roofing has gone live and we will be monitoring it closely to make sure it is ranking well in the next few weeks. 

A&G Automation Ltd is a long standing client who's newest site is now live and ranking on the search engines.

Another typical week at Bath Business Web, with satisfied clients and up to date, contemporary web design at its best.

To find out how you can benefit from our website packages and customer support, get in touch by

 email, facebook or twitter!

Mission ad:tech 2012

Starring Dan C and Company Director Duncan Short

After our early morning arrival at the train station feeling slightly groggy and in need of a bacon sandwich, Duncan and I talked about our main objectives for the day. We needed to find a new platform/CMS that allowed us to create beautiful, multi platform sites and some new directory software to bring our current directories into the 21st century. With this is mind we made our way off the tube and headed for Olympia.

Once we had our passes and were scanned in, I was immediately struck by two things. Firstly the size of the place (hundreds of stalls, zones and networking areas) and secondly the large amount of people (mainly incredibly attractive women) that were walking around!

Intrepid Explorers

We visited a number of stalls as we began to find our way through and whilst they were fascinating, none of them were exactly what we were looking for.

Our first golden find was a seminar by the company Epiphany Search. These guys are a leading SEO giant with an arsenal of tools and a ton of useful information about the changing face of SEO and how to deal with Google and its ever morphing algorithms. We both came away from this talk a lot wiser and much of the information learnt will be used by our very own SEO teams in future campaigns.

As we continued deeper into the maze we met a number of interesting people who gave us advice on lead generation, software that could read entire websites for the partially sighted, mobile apps, mobile marketing, HTML5 responsive design and social media. 

 

Good networking needs pizza

We decided to have a break and a Pizza Express To Go. This was exactly what was needed in order to regain some of our energy and as we ate we met several exhibitors who were eager to chat about the reasons for us being there. They told us about their stalls and then pointed us in the direction of some stalls they thought we would find interesting. We took their advice and went out and found them.

The first happened to be Epiphany (the company whos seminar we had been to earlier). Here we relaxed with a smoking cocktail (yes, really!) and spoke to Dan their head of SEO. He was an absolute wealth of information and ended up being the best find of the day.

Dan enlightened us on a new CMS called Umbraco that would suit all our cross browser needs whilst still having complete freedom with design. He discussed our directory and highlighted how our backlink structure was working and ways we could improve some of our rankings even further. He then took us through various software packages we could use to spice up our old directory. To put it shortly the man was a god!

A victorious retreat

The rest of the stalls we visited turned out to be brilliant but completely irrelevant to what we needed. We decided after a little while that we had found what we were looking for from Dan the man and that it was time to leave.

In honor of #talklikeapirateday we went out in a blaze of glory taking as many useful freebies as we could find. With our boots full of swag (mainly of sweets and pens) we left, ensuring we had one last snap that really encompassed our day at Ad:Tech.

Dan C is our head web designer at Bath Business Web. Email him for a chat!

Weekly Update

We've been busy updating some of our websites this week, as well as putting the finishing touches to those scheduled to go live w/c 17th September (check in next Friday to see them!)

First on the menu for a refresh is Buffets Galore, with some tweaks to the menu sections and some changes to navigation. Hard to concentrate with all the pictures of delicious food though!

Matt Robbins Plumbing and Gas Services has been given a content polish, keeping everything clean and up to date.

Bruce Bodle also got the executive treatment, with Osteopath Birmingham having a site MOT, an informal check up with some new content and site map update.

Remember - Bath Business Web is always open to new clients, so if your website is tired, behind the times, or just in the planning stages at the moment, drop us a line via email, tweet us @BathBusinessWeb or visit our Facebook.

3 things to consider about sponsorship

3 things to consider about sponsorship as a small business

Small businesses are constantly seeking ways to promote their services and their skills. From electrical contractors to gallery owners, developing a solid marketing strategy is vital if you want to grow your business. 

One option that may be available to you is sponsorship. Sports teams at every level, individuals looking to break records or increase their visibility or an upcoming event all need revenue to reach their goals. This is where you come in - as a corporate sponsor you provide needed income in return for public recognition of your name and brand. 

Think about local football or cricket teams. They need to buy kit, perhaps maintain training grounds or club space, pay for advertising and so on. So they attract sponsors from the world of business, who put up bill boards and signs on the pitch in return for monthly or yearly payments.The team can now pay for their new away kit and the business has a very visible ad on their pitch. Everybody wins.

Or do they?

Here are 3 things to consider before taking up sponsorship as a marketing strategy...

1) Image association

Tying your brand to a group or an individual can provide powerful associations. A winning team, or a courageous last placer, can provide positive associations for your company.

This does cut both ways, however. The arrogant midfielder who swears at every match and the dispirited coach who is a public drunk also gets associated with you, but not in a positive way. 

It is best to carefully consider your chosen sponsee. Protect yourself as much as you can by doing your homework on your chosen people. Monitor their behaviour and public image for a while before taking the plunge.

2) Product and service awareness

You invest a certain amount of money and in return get a platform from which to advertise your business. It's up to you how you do this. One option is to highlight products and services - perhaps the most popular type of garden furniture you make, or maybe a slow selling menu that you want to promote. By using your visible space e.g. billboard, section on their website or brochure, you can speak directly to consumers who follow your sponsee.

Be aware of your competition however. Many people have multiple sponsors, often from the same industry. You do not want your latest range of paper office supplies advertised next to a piece of new technology promising a paperless office.

Try to build a close relationship with your sponsee and stay involved in the process of placing sponsored advertising. That way you have more chance of some control over who you share space with. 

3) Local sponsorship

The goal of local sponsorship is to invest in local resources and communities, supporting local culture and funding things close to your employee's hearts. These types of sponsorship can promote excellent public relations in your area, develop a loyal customer base and improve the morale of your staff. 

Looking at the flip side, local sponsorship can often be exactly that. Recognition can be thin on the ground outside of the local area, or worse, outside of the specific industry you are sponsoring. You can work hard to promote a local youth shelter or a charity cake sale, but ultimately you may feel no real effect from a wider marketing point of view.

Understand the limitations when putting together your sponsorship plan. Aim for a balance between investment and return to ensure you don't overspend on concerns that have a lower publicity potential. By all means cover your finance manager's Teddy Bears Picnic charity event, but don't rank it higher than a rider in a coast-to-coast triathlon when allocating the sponsorship budget.

Avoiding sponsorship disaster requires planning, forethought and a certain amount of luck, but when done properly it can be hugely beneficial. With a sensible and professional approach, sponsorship can be an empowering and lucrative marketing strategy, as well as a fantastic opportunity to support local and national teams, groups and events. 

Bath Business Web proudly sponsors LarkhallAFC

Weekly Update

Bath Business Web is proud to introduce our newest websites:

Providing cleaning services to the South West of England, please meet AJM Elite

Serving the construction and domestic need for mild and stainless steel, Trojan Engineering

Refurbishments

As well as designing and building new websites, we take good care of our existing customers. This week we have been giving Complete Security UK Ltd a wash and brush up.

Designed and built by our talented web design team, we hope our customers are as happy with their new pages as we are!

Businesses, say hello to responsive web design.

Responsive Web Design and why you should care about it

A new era for web design

A few years ago, most of us were getting used to the Internet. Information was available from our home or work computers at a rate we could never have imagined. The machines themselves were solid constructs, proudly dominating our desks and snaking their cables across the floors.

Now, we look back on those early days fondly, with an amused shake of the head. Bulky monitors and desktop PC's are replaced by slim high definition and tiny network docks. Cables have gone entirely, with wireless taking their place in offices all over the world. Thinking that the future was here, the web design community settled down in their sleek new work spaces and relaxed.

Even with the introduction of laptops, things were stable. The screen sizes on a laptop were nearly the same as those on a PC, and with a minimum of fuss users could scroll the web pages along if they needed to. 

Along comes an apple...

In 2007, a revolution in computer technology appeared in the shops. The Apple iPhone had landed, and mobile Internet was born. 

from wikimedia commons

The challenges were formidable. Firstly, these devices were odd shaped and strange sizes, compared to the previously dominant PC and laptop screens. Secondly, they were popular - by the fourth quarter of 2008 Apple reported 6.89 million sales. Thirdly, they were the tip of the iceberg. Google responded in 2008 with its long secret Android mobile phone. More devices that used unusual screen sizes and resolutions such as iPads, tablets and netbooks became used to regularly access the Internet. Not to mention the new HD screens of huge size that people could plug modern computers into - think a 42'' TV being used as a monitor!

What they did about it

Originally, they did something that was not very clever. Web designers all over the world began churning out "mobile versions" of their websites. Try to access a website and you would be redirected to a much smaller version with low quality graphics and basic information.

This wouldn't cut the mustard for long, especially in a market that was being sold its new iPhones as a viable mobile Internet. In May 2010, this article appeared by Ethan Marcotte, and changed the way web designers thought of the mobile web entirely. 

Welcome to Responsive Web Design

The idea was relatively simple - why not make a website that can change it's size, shape and resolution based on the size of the screen that is trying to look at it. Simple it may be, but the technology behind these changes is impressive. If you've used a smartphone to read a website which has appeared perfectly easy to read, chances are you have witnessed responsive web design in action. 

So what does all this have to do with your business?
You want your website to be as accessible and professional looking as possible. You want people to enjoy browsing it, no matter what device they use to do so. You need responsive web design, and most of all you want a web designer that can do this for you.

Bath Business Web now offers all new customers responsive web design as standard. So you can guarantee a professional, modern browsing experience for your customers, whatever they use to reach your site.

 Bath Business Web. 

Local business matters.

See also:
Beware of Google pay-per-click
5 Search engines you never thought to try