The web is filled with hundreds, thousands, most probably millions of blogs, all containing unique and diverse subject matter and all there to serve a niche audience. There is no doubt that blogging has and is changing the way we entertain ourselves and search for information. In fact a good blog can really establish a professionals credentials.

Just then I was on a site which led me to think, there must be a better reason to blog and for one day each year, that site is dedicated to raising awareness about a specific issue which either directly or indirectly affects us all. I would like any bloggers visiting my site to check out http://blogactionday.org - a truly unique concept which mobilises a lot of content owners to share and discuss their thoughts, ideas and solutions to problems.

Last year focused on the environment, this year the theme is all about poverty, what causes it, problems related to it, and of course ways to end it. I am going to get behind the campaign and add my thoughts as to what is causing poverty, both locally and globally and encourage others to do the same. The web is perhaps the only real medium which can mobilise and unite millions of people into thinking and acting. We are exposed to so many messages online, that unifying one message could truly have such an impact to illicit change.

Check back on 15 October 2008 when I add my post, and if you are a blogger consider getting behind such a great scheme! Whatever our reasons to blog, surely uniting millions of publishers and their audience will have a far greater effect than that of individual greed?

Filed under: Ramblings by Moley
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This article, like the previous one, was written whilst I worked for Concise Services. It is written with an element of humour, but with some true relevance about businesses I had worked with previously. Regardless of the medium of communication, first impressions often last the longest, and where business is concerned perhaps we do not always consider what the tinest detail could do to us, for your enjoyment:

First Impressions still count

Even in today’s “fast paced business world” the business card, one of the oldest forms of marketing, is still mis-understood, and, in some cases has become a dreaded eyesore!

Picture the scene; you have spent months trying to pitch your products at a very large distributor, a few phonecalls and emails, this is your first, and last chance, to impress the distributor you are hoping will sign “THE DEAL”. You know that this deal will make your business, it’s a massive contract which will catipult your business to a national level. Your company has potential, your products are unique, staff are highly talented and there is a huge demand, all that stands between you and the deal is their Managing Director.

The meeting begins with polite introductions, business cards are exchanged, their MD frowns, then a moment of silence…The meeting begins, you’re asked questions you weren’t prepared for relating to your business, not your product, whilst you tried to bluff your way through it, it didn’t go quite as you’d planned.

The next day you anxiously wait for the dreaded phone call, in comes in, you didn’t get the contract, instead it went to your closest rival. You sit there and contemplate the meeting in your head, going over what you had said and what you could have gone wrong, then it hits you…it was the exchange of business cards.

What was wrong with the business cards? It had your name, position and contact details? What else does a business card need? They were designed in powerpoint and printed on the laserjet to save the company about $300, as an efficient business it made good fiscal sense. It only needs to convey contact information right? WRONG!

In the business world, first impressions count. Your business card may be the first opportunity for an organisation to interact with your brand. As with your branding, your business card needs to inspire confidence, whilst appealing to the senses. Your business card needs to be memorable, it must stand out
in people’s minds. If you spend enough time and effort on your business cards, people will believe you apply the same level of care to your business.

When you have a great business card, always hand out 2-3 cards at a time, one is for them, the others are your next referral business. If you are serious about your business, then be serious about your business cards. Rather than focusing on the cost of new business cards, focus instead on their quality, your cards represent your business. Business cards are one of the cheapest forms of marketing, they’re highly personal, easily retained and often referred to. First Impressions count, don’t let your business card become your businesses weakness.

Filed under: Editorials and Articles by Moley
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Whilst working for Concise Services in Mandurah I wrote the following article about the importance of setting website objectives. The article was featured in their client newsletter, which gives information about the company in addition to helpful tips for smaller businesses, it is also featured on their website and can be viewed here.

Concise Services continue to offer great value marketing solutions, and since my departure have added some very talented young professionals. Please excuse any errors contained within the article as it was quickly written, and not properly proof read very professional of me! Anyways, for your entertainment:

Is your website working? Setting Objectives, and avoiding pitfalls

Today most businesses have a web presence, with a range of reasons for building one. The single most common reason businesses invest in a web presence is simply because: “everyone else has one”.

Jumping on the website bandwagon can actually be detrimental to your business not to mention your brand. When building a website you need to identify key objectives as to why your business needs a website, these could include:

• Create an E-Commerce website
• Convert traditional sales to online
• Build a customer database
• Reduce costs of traditional marketing
• Build brand awareness online
• Distribute Information
• Gather Market Research
• Build relationships online

As you can see, those examples are business or marketing objectives. The objectives listed above will influence the design/layout of a website and need to be considered before the design process
begins. A website may have one or more objectives it needs to fulfil. For instance; a company may build an online presence purely to convert customers to buying online, this in turn should decrease traditional marketing costs, whilst building relationships online.

Once the site is up and running we can track key metrics to evaluate its success. By creating an E-Commerce website, one metric would be the amount of sales generated online. If the site needed to build
a customer database, another metric would be the amount of site sign-ups/registrations. Not to mention how many people visited your website, where they came from, how long they stayed, what is the most popular page, how many people are returning to your site and where the visitors are located geographically.

That is just a handful of information used to measure your websites success, helping you identify its strengths and weaknesses. It can be the difference between promoting your product on a national/international scale or instead promoting your business at a local/regional level.

By setting achievable objectives before the start of your website project, it will be easier to assess its effectiveness. Your website can do more than stagnate online, it gives your business a good reason for investing in your online presence. Your brand needs to reflected in your website, ensuring that
the quality of service delivered offline is matched or exceeded online.

A website is often considered a luxury, and more often than not, businesses cannot justify spending thousands on a long term marketing project, and a website is a long term investment. However the benefits
of investing now, outweigh the costs. With a structured digital marketing plan, your site will assist your business to reach a larger audience. It can be integrated into traditional marketing, enabling you to
track how effective your Radio or Press advertising actually is. Because websites can automate manual processes, they can improve business efficiency by reducing staffing costs, helping increase profit margins.

Not every business is ready for a web presence. Prematurely investing in a website may result in your website failing to meet expectations, reflecting negatively on your brand. Invest when the time is right, when you have considered what your website needs to achieve, and ensure there are real business objectives for your website.

The internet is rapidly changing the way we think and behave. Google is used by millions of people
worldwide. It is replacing traditional printed directories which people used to find information, its faster, relevant and at peoples finger tips. A quick search enables you to access information within seconds.

The word “Mandurah” is searched extensively each month, with barely a handful of websites set-up to benefit from this traffic. People are looking for your business/products and are more receptive to your
online messages. Take your time to research why you need to build a website, but remember, for everyday
you delay, your competitor may beat you to the prize.

Filed under: Editorials and Articles by Moley
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Well Google doesn’t really hates, in fact it eats them for breakfast, most in the search engine optimisation society know that. However, recently there have been murmurings of websites tanking since Google updated its algorithm regarding reciprocal and paid links. One such post which got my attention can be found here: Authority Directory.

One issue I had specifically was that of paid directories. There are hundreds if not thousands of them out there, some niche, others more generic, however all have played a role in promoting websites whilst (hopefully improving their pagerank). After reading that Google now frowned upon paid links I shed a little tear, as I know it is one way to help give new sites a little shot in the arm. However it looks as though that tear was in vain as what you actually pay for on most directories is for someone to preview your site, and if they like it, add it to their directory – about as close as you can get to a paid link, without it “officially being paid”.

A lot of problems I found using and managing directories over the past has been the issue of reciprocal links. It has been one of the oldest forms of SEO – exchanging links with business partners or websites of a similar nature. However in recent years I know some websites have created massive pages dedicated to hosting all reciprocated links in one place. These pages are in fact a complete mine field of useless information, they may not be useless as such, but any human may have serious trouble trying to navigate or understand them.

So what? You may ask, well simple really all search engines have stated that we need to provide content for humans, not search engines – by creating massive lists with hundreds of URLs we are in actual fact creating links for the benefit of improving search engine results, and thus removing the human element from our website.

So while reciprocal linking on a smaller scale probably won’t hurt your site/business try becoming a bit more creative with your partner links. Consider dedicating a whole blog post about partners, adding the content is good for organic search results anyway, and try to get your linking partner to do the same back. This will create content that humans would more likely read, interact with and increase the chances of that link being clicked. Not to mention the old fashioned referral bit of business you have just created.

Additionally try and add links to your website in other ways. My site has a friends page, with companies I have dealt with or worked for, plus a few friends I want to link to. Whilst this may not be the best example out there, the fact that the page isn’t called links.html will probably slightly help those links somewhat. Additionally that page doesn’t contain too many companies, so it is easy for a human to digest the information.

If however, I were to suddenly increase the amount of links on the site, I would need to portray the information to make relevant and simple to use. And this is where the post comes full circle, the great thing about directories is that they are categorized in relevant, logical sections. So within each segment of a directory you always understand what the websites are about, and where they fit in context to the site.

I am a great believer in directories being fantastic additions to websites, even smaller ones. An example of a project where I implemented a similar directory as shown on Ipswich Central’s website whilst working for Jacob Bailey. The shopping category was broken down into niche sections, allowing the end user to navigate to the section which immediately interested them, grouping relevant links together. To extend the quality of this particular directory, each link has its own page, giving a brief description about the company, as well as additional contact information and opening hours. Whilst it is a bolt on directory to a successful site, it is also a great resource for the end user. It has also created over 300 extra pages which will no doubt help the site improve its traffic from search engines.

So that has to be the best way of working with reciprocal links, whilst creating an extension to your website which is both a resource to your users, and useful from a search engine perspective.

Filed under: SEO, PPC, Design by Moley
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You make a star wars spoof based on Search Engine Wars

This weeks aware goes to http://www.baseonesearch.co.uk/blog/2008/08/seo-wars.html - well done to the guys (and girls) at Base One for making me smile on a Friday. In fact it has given me an excuse for a regular blog entry…Now there is a thought

Filed under: Ramblings by Moley
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