May 26, 2022
Google Analytics, the leading measuring tool for analysing & comparing what visitors do on your website, is having a major change over the next year as it switches from Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4. While GA4 is available now, the data is not retroactive, so the sooner you switch, the better.
Analytics is important but it's just another tool to help your marketing: you still need to know what questions to ask in order to benefit your business. What actions do you want people to take on your website? Where are you hoping to get them from and how can you measure how successful that is? A key improvement to GA4 makes it easier to answer these questions.
May 12, 2022
While it is true that pretty much everybody uses a search engine nowadays, there is an oversimplified idea that if your business pops up at the top of a search page, people will flock to your site and business will boom. Being top of a Google search isn't necessarily what you should be aiming for.
Start with asking yourself questions about your marketplace: what do I offer? Who am I benefitting? If you want to be effective, you need a good marketing plan that considers these things. Use of search is just one tool to help your strategy.
Rather than a major focus on keywords, which may be a very niche subject in a very broad term, make sure your site's content informs and demonstrates what do you well and, in doing so, you give yourself an organically successful SEO method.
April 28, 2022
It's great being able to be independent, running business yourself, but sometimes your skillset isn't enough, and the best choice is to get somebody else involved.
While it may be tempting to try and do everything yourself, to save costs or provide additional revenue, there are downsides. Getting the right tools and learning how to use them can be expensive and time-consuming, and using an external service with the tools and experience can be more cost effective.
But is there a way to work collaboratively to create a more satisfying way of operating?
April 14, 2022
In the final part of looking at tools that we use, telecom systems are at the forefront of our minds.
In the past, internet connectivity held back VoIP (Voice over IP) systems for early adopters: it was about having the technology rather than it actually being beneficial. While our existing telecoms had served us well, it was getting long in the tooth and, with internet speeds always improving, we made the switch to cloud phone system 3CX in December 2019.
With a goal to be able to operate flexibly, even before working from home became a necessity, we have seen significant benefits and improved functionality, all at a lower cost! And, though reliability can be a risk, we never want to switch back.
March 31, 2022
Whether you like it or not, if you're running a business, you have to keep accounts. Bookkeeping and invoicing can be tedious and time consuming, but something that is entirely necessary. As a small business owner, keeping on top of finances and knowing your position is vital.
Some years ago, we switched to Xero, a cloud accounting system. While there were some initial teething issues, like with most new software, we came out the other side wondering how we ever lived without it. Here we look at the pros and cons to cloud accounting.
March 17, 2022
Domains, email and hosting are critically important elements of the digital business world but are often forgotten because, when they work well, you never need to think about Them: But they are the glue holding an business together if they fail, everything falls apart!
In this episode, we discuss these elements of the digital world that are often taken for granted, but that are actually at the centre of our work!
March 3, 2022
Building a website can seem like technical barrier for many people and take focus away from the real challenge of building a business. But given the right tools and working with the right partners, designing and hosting a website should simply be a part of running & building a business rather than a technical hurdle to overcome.
Over the years, we've identified two key tools in website development and management that we have come to rely on: WordPress (an open source web builder) and Elementor a tool for building WordPress templates.
In todays podcast we talk about these two tools and why we use them.
February 17, 2022
In this new season, we’re taking a glimpse “behind the curtain” at the tools used in web marketing. In most instances, you cannot run a business these days without the technical tools and support, so what do we use for websites, e-mail and even, looking beyond marketing, accounting and telephone systems?
As we’re surrounded by technology, a key thing to remember is the tool only aids in running your business: it isn’t the be-all and end-all. For the right tools, you need to understand both why you want it and what you hope to gain.
February 3, 2022
On the back of our recent e-business series, we’ve had some real world examples of situations where a joined-up approach would have been useful. Legitimate suppliers selling legitimate products, but their lack of cohesion and poor communication led to a less than ideal customer experience, costing them potential further business.
What were the big mistakes made and how should they avoid it in future?
January 20, 2022
Regardless of whether your business is conducted primarily on or offline, a solid digital presence is key to the way you interact with your market and customers.
Different businesses operate in slightly different ways but fundamentally they need to effectively engage with their marketplace and digital platforms are now a critical part of this process.
In our final episode on e-business, we pull things together and discuss how a joined up approach to managing the digital elements of your business is vital to long term success.
