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Google My Business logo

Use Google My Business to help YOUR business

Google My Business (GMB) is one of the cheapest and easiest ways to improve the appearance of your site in search results. Unfortunately, most businesses fail to utilise it to its full potential. Let’s discuss why it’s worth taking the time to make your GMB listing as useful as possible. What is Google My Business? Google My Business, in a nutshell, is a local business listing service. It’s a free tool provided by Google, allowing business owners to set up [...]

WordPress backup, computer backing up to the cloud

Not backing up your site? Your business could be in danger!

WordPress backups of your website are vitally important. Any experienced website owner will tell you this. However, many new WordPress users tend to neglect to backup their site. This might be because they think nothing bad will happen or maybe because they’ve looked into backing up and it’s too expensive or time-consuming. Unfortunately, if something goes wrong with your website you could lose everything. Let’s discuss why backups are so fundamentally important. Hackers Sadly, it’s not surprising to learn that there are [...]

social media advertising

The Power of Social Media Advertising

It’s estimated that at this point in time 78% of adults in the UK are using Facebook but are you using it to its full potential? Despite the overwhelming popularity of Facebook, its still met with some scepticism when it comes to small business owners and Facebook advertising. However, you can’t dispute facts, and in 2015 Facebook was the primary influencer for 52% of online and offline purchases. So, what do you need to do to capitalise on the [...]

seo

How To Improve Your SEO Rankings

We’ve previously discussed exactly what SEO is and how it works, but what about if you want to improve your SEO rankings? There are a number of ways available to improve where your site sits in Google’s search results. Whether you’re just starting out using SEO and want to know how to get started, or you’ve been at it for a while and are wondering why you’re not seeing much improvement, we’ve got you covered. SEO is about more than [...]

user-friendly web design

User-Friendly Web Design and Your Business

User-friendliness, as the name would suggest, just refers to how easy it is for a customer or user to find what they want to find and navigate their way around your site. At its essence, the key elements of user-friendly web design boil down to: Navigation Responsive/mobile-friendliness Load time Readability So why are these web design features so important for a business? Recommended Reading: Why Your Business Needs Online Reviews Navigation Navigation means how easily a customer can find what they’re looking for on your website. The [...]

online reviews

Why your business needs online reviews.

It doesn’t matter what type of business you’re operating, online or offline, reviews will help it to thrive. There are a number of reasons why online reviews are so essential to customers. The foremost of which being trust. We’re going to look at why businesses need reviews and some hints and tips about them that will make the process easier! The beauty of sites like Yelp, Glassdoor, TripAdvisor, Facebook and Google Reviews is that they assure the customer that you’re [...]

adwords

How does AdWords Work?

If you’re new to online advertising, or just Google AdWords, getting to grips with it can be a little bit daunting. Luckily, we’re here to show you that it’s not as difficult as it seems and that if you’re using it properly, it can be very powerful.   What is Google AdWords? Google AdWords is Google’s advertising service. It allows you to place adverts for your products on search engine result pages. These adverts are paid for by you, and will [...]

wordpress development

Why WordPress Development is Important

This week we’ll be answering the question of why WordPress development is so important for a small business. WordPress is currently one of the most popular platforms for business websites. While there are a number of platforms available, in our opinion (as well as the opinion of several others) WordPress is the most important one to learn. So why is that? Recommended Reading: Making Social Media Work For Your Business (and what to do if you don’t have time)  Infinitely customisable The main [...]

social media

Making Social Media Work For Your Business (and what to do if you don’t have time)

In 2018, everyone’s using social media; from your children to your grandma. But did you know that social media can also be used to bring in business for your company? We’re going to discuss how you can make social media work for your business, how to know which social media platforms are right for you and what to do if you simply don’t have the time (or inclination – be honest!) to learn how to wrestle with social media. Choosing [...]

seo

What is SEO and how does it work?

Chances are you’ve heard of SEO and the magic it can work for a business. But, like a lot of business owners, you’re possibly wondering how it works. Don’t worry – the vast majority of people aren’t 100% sure. This blog post will give an overview of how SEO works and how to use it to increase the traffic to your site. What is SEO? SEO stands for search engine optimisation. It basically refers to the ways in which you [...]

https

HTTPS: Why You Need To Make The Switch

You may have heard a lot of information about switching to HTTPS recently; it’s been the buzz of web design news for a while now! You might be wondering though, exactly what HTTPS is and why it’s necessary for the day-to-day running of your website. We’ve written this article to help you to understand why it’s important and why you need to make the switch. If your website handles any user data or sensitive information, it’s vital that you’ve made [...]

Web Design Trends for 2018

2018 is here and with it comes a new wave of web design trends to take notice of. We’re now in the middle of February, which means we are aware of exactly what’s causing a storm in 2018. Let’s take a look at some of these web design trends, and think about some of the ways that they can be used for enhancing your own business’ website. Bolder, Brighter Colours Gone are the more monotone colours that were popular in previous [...]

video content

Video Content is the Key to Successful Digital Marketing

When you think of advertising, depending on your generation, you’ll either think of traditional advertising on the television or the advertising seen on platforms such as YouTube, Snapchat or Vimeo. The thread that holds advertising on television and the world of digital marketing together is that they both rely heavily on the use of video content. When you think about it, it’s easy to see why online video advertising is around 600% more successful than other forms of digital [...]

instagram benefits

Instagram Benefits You Need To Know

At this point, the majority of our social interactions include photos. Whether it’s texting a friend and adding an accompanying picture to prove a point, taking a selfie or updating your Snapchat story. One of the most apparent examples of the importance of visual content is the meteoric rise of Instagram. As such, a lot of brands are trying extremely hard to understand the Instagram benefits and harness them to sell their product. 1. Instagram Benefits: Marketing Instagram photos are a [...]

small business social media presence

3 Arguments To Prove That Social Media Presence Is Vital For Small Businesses

In 2018, most businesses, small or large, are already using social media to build their brand. If you’re one of the few companies that are not riding the social media wave, you might be wondering what all the fuss is about. After all, surely an SEO-friendly site and a good newsletter are enough? Unfortunately, it’s not. You need a social media presence to reach customers and stay above the competition. Here are some of the reasons why social media [...]

Tips for a Successful Christmas Social Media Campaign

Christmas is a stressful yet rewarding time of year for any business. Companies need to alter their brand to suit the holiday season, including changes to the design of their website and the creation of a Christmas social media campaign. A Christmas social media campaign has 3 overall goals: To spread some festive cheer Increase engagement with your content Create a spike in sales So how can a business achieve these lofty goals using the power of social media alone? At Sites For Business, [...]

gdpr

GDPR: How will it affect web design?

GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is an upcoming rule that governs the handling of personal data. GDPR will be enforced in May 2018, across the EU, including the UK (regardless of its Brexit status at the time). The GDPR regulations will replace existing regulations that dictate how companies are allowed to collect, store and use the personal information of their clients. The new regulations are designed to give control of personal information back to ordinary people, prioritising them over the interests [...]

social media reviews

Social Media Reviews: Why They Matter

In 2017, it’s likely that your business already has its own social media presence. This means that people are most probably leaving reviews of your company on your social media profiles. We live in an age where consumers are more empowered than before and are more likely to do their research via social media reviews before they decide to buy. According to recent studies, 90% of respondents claimed that positive online reviews influenced whether or not they chose to buy. [...]

social network management

5 Facts You Didn’t Know About Social Network Management

Social network management isn’t quite as easy as just getting a Facebook account and posting. These social media gurus are extremely proficient in social media and know the kind of content that will cause your products and services to sell. Here are 5 fast facts you didn’t know about social network management. Social Network Management Takes a Long Time While social network management sounds like a breeze, it’s actually extremely time-consuming. A small business will likely need between 10-15 hours of [...]

social media management

Social Media Management Can Help Your Business To Grow

It’s vital that, when running a business, you’re actively using social media. Additionally, it’s even more important that you’re using social media properly. Did you know that 71% of people who have a good social media experience with a brand are likely to recommend the brand to others? Hiring a social media manager allows you to create a social media presence that actually builds your business and brings in new customers. Let’s take a look at some of the [...]

build your brand

Build Your Brand: Social Media and Business

In 2017, social media isn’t something you can ignore or simply go without. As a business, social media can be used to allow you to engage with customers, respond to feedback, and advertise your products and/or services. In fact, 71% of brands intend to invest more money into their social media presence. However, using social media to your benefit isn’t as simple as signing up to a platform and posting. Potential customers need to know who you are and [...]

web design trends

Web Design Trends: What’s Fashionable in 2017?

As a team of committed web designers, it’s important that we stay on top of the current trends in web design. As such, we have compiled a definitive list of the top web design trends for 2017, so you can see whether your site is staying current. Learn more about designing WordPress websites in Southampton Asymmetry For a long time, it was a commonly held belief that websites should follow a symmetrical format. This means that the layout should look the same [...]

Facebook Business Account: How To Make One & How To Use It.

In 2017, it’s impossible to exaggerate the importance that social media sites like Facebook and Twitter have for any business. One of the best things about Facebook is the reach it can give your business if you use it right. Setting up a Facebook business account is a valuable way to reach more customers and keep in touch with your client base. So, how do you set up your own Facebook business page? Choose your Facebook business account classification. First you will [...]

HTTPS: Why you urgently need to switch to secure browsing.

As of 2015, Google has adjusted their crawlers to start prioritising HTTPS pages by default. This means that pages with HTTPS are given higher priority than those with HTTP. In January 2017, a Chrome update meant that input fields that are not using HTTPS were flagged to let users know that they were transmitting data insecurely. But what are HTTP and HTTPS? Why do you need to make the switch? What is HTTP? Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is most commonly used to [...]

web design southampton

Site Structure and SEO: How to Build an Optimised Website

Search engines favour websites with great site structure. If you’re looking to get your website to the top of Google’s results, you will need to tune and organise your site’s structure. This post will discuss the benefits of organised site structure and how it enhances your site’s SEO. But first, how do we improve a site’s structure? Website hierarchy One of the most important things to consider is website hierarchy. You need to plan your hierarchy before beginning anything else. This [...]

Search Engine Optimisation: What is it & how does it work?

Search engine optimisation (or SEO for short) is the practice of tailoring your website’s content to suit Google’s algorithm. This means that over time, your website will organically reach the top of Google’s listing without having to pay for Google promotion. Just take a look at a Google search for any topic; the first results will be paid-for promoted pages and the ones immediately following that will be ones with good SEO. So, now that we know what search engine [...]

wordpress websites

WordPress Websites: Why You Need To Use Them

In this day and age, it is important that every business has a website. Your website should be easily navigable, readable and aesthetically pleasing. Luckily, the WordPress websites platform is designed to fulfil all of these needs. This post will explain why you should become one of the 59% of businesses that rely on WordPress for their company website. Learn more about designing WordPress websites in Southampton Simple User Interface One of the best things about WordPress is its clear and simple [...]

Learning the Basics of Good Website Design

Following on from the previous post about the importance of good website design, we can now discuss the methods available to improve your website. There are a number of ways to make your business website more engaging and customer-friendly. Easily Navigable Website You want your customers to be able to move around your website easily and to be able to get to the page they’re looking for without hassle. Sites with good website design should ideally follow the ‘three click rule’. [...]

How Good Web Design Benefits Your Business

In a world so reliant upon technology, good web design is extremely important for any business. A website is a cost-effective yet valuable way to advertise your business and make sure you’re reaching a large number of potential customers. A website is effectively the modern day equivalent of window shopping, so you will want to ensure that your site is engaging enough to draw your customers in. Simply look at some of these statistics about web design and customer engagement. [...]

4 check boxes labelled excellent, good, average and poor. poor is ticked - negative reviews can be beneficial for your business if handled properly

How to Handle Negative Reviews and Turn Them into Something positive

Online reviews and customer feedback are vital for the reputation and growth of your business. 74% of customers will be more willing to trust a business if they have read positive reviews about it. However, occasionally, you will find yourself in a situation in which a customer has left negative reviews about your company online. While these negative reviews are disheartening and can be detrimental to your company, there are ways to limit the damage caused by them. In fact, [...]

Wordpress Plugins

What Do You Know About WordPress Plugins?

WordPress Plugins are interchangeable adaptations that help enhance your website design. Southampton WordPress Specialists can use them to help custom-build your web design layout, making your business website unique. WordPress explains further: “A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. ” There are thousands of [...]

Call to Action

Do you know what a Call to Action is?

Don’t be shy, not many do. It’s sometimes referred to as a CTA and is defined as: “An image or line of text that prompts your visitors, leads, and customers to take action. It is, quite literally, a “call” to take an “action.” The ‘action’ you wish your customers to take could vary but it should certainly be something inspirational and assertive. CTAs also work better when combined with various other tools that deliver a strong integrated strategy,  sitting authentically within [...]

Web design Southampton

6 Ways Responsive Web Design Matters

When you go online to a new website and notice something is missing, doesn’t it make you mad? By now you know how we feel about quality web design Southampton! There is no excuse for a lack of responsive web design. Or if the corner of a webpage suddenly disappears when you scroll down, do you ever wonder why? Don’t you hate it when you can’t find the button you need to click on and spend ages searching, only [...]

web design Southampton

5 Reasons WordPress Works For Web Design

Business is all about WordPress web design Southampton. Every business needs an online presence and WordPress websites really are better than others. It’s immense and supports nearly 75 thousand websites and all the big brands use it. It really took off last year too. It is one of the most revered global content management and web design platforms available. Now, you may wonder if your small business needs such a tool. Or even an online presence at all but [...]

Ransomware

Don’t let Ransomware jeopardise your business website

You will have heard a lot about Ransomware in the news recently when the NHS computer system was attacked. What you may not have heard is this was part of a larger wave of global attacks. The latest report suggested over 200,000 computers were affected with possibly more to come, so don’t let Ransomware attacks jeopardise your web design Southampton! The BBC speculated on further attacks but regardless, cybercrime is not going away anytime soon. Ransomware is something we [...]

Social responsible Southampton web design

How Southampton Web Designers Can Help The Community

Here at Sites For Business, there is only one thing we take more seriously than Southampton web design. That is charity. Southampton business is at the heart of everything we do and we often find worthwhile partners in our ventures but Jamie’s Computers is one of the finest we‘ve encountered so far.  Jamie’s computers are a not for profit, award winning organisation. They are also a  practical way to repair damaged or simply unwanted computers. These days computers get outdated [...]

Business Website

7 Hack Proof Security Tips For Your Business Website

So the recent virus attack on the NHS business website this week has caught everyone by surprise. The BBC reports this is part of a much larger, ongoing problem. There are in fact an estimated 200,000 computers infected so far, with reports still coming in. So exactly how can this affect your Southampton business website? For those that don’t know, Ransomware is a computer virus that intentionally infects your website. Businesses can be targeted by online criminals who use it [...]

web design for southampton

5 Rules Your Business Needs to Know About Web Design

Every business needs a website in this day and age and great, effective web design for Southampton businesses is how we make our living. Online shopping is fast becoming the ultimate avenue of influence in purchase power. Content management systems like WordPress hosts over 64 million websites and it is growing fast because it combines simple, easy to use and attractive visual content with strong blogging capabilities. Take into account the importance of SEO ranking in google searches and you have [...]

WordPress alt-tags

Introduction to WordPress Alt-Tags

We all know how important Google SEO ratings are but do we really know how the system works? The role WordPress ‘alt-tags’ play are now more crucial. Being high up on the SEO list can really increase your chances of connecting with your customers. It’s reported that almost 91% don’t ever look past the first page of search results. So what is an ‘Alt-tag’? Well, the term ‘alt-tag’ means alternative text and “it describes what’s in the image and what the content [...]

website design in Southampton

5 Ways Website Reviews Can Help Your Business

RevFee.com is now officially launched! Check it out by clicking here! Customer reviews are the latest trend for website design in Southampton. 88% of shoppers use them, so find out how your business can benefit. Word of mouth has always been great for business but before Southampton had websites, it was just you chatting with a neighbour. Now your business needs an online review so everyone can see the nice words people are saying about you. As we reported in one of [...]

Google SEO

How Google SEO Listings Help Your Business

What is the first thing someone does when they are looking to buy these days? They search on google. Why? Well, this is because SEO listings help your business online more than you can realise. Learning why and how they work can be the key to a successful business. 81% of shoppers make decisions online so imagine how many options there are. Is your business one of them? 91% of shoppers don’t even go past the first page of google results. With as [...]

slower website design Southampton

10 Reasons Why Your Website Is Slower Than Your Rival

Is your website slower than your rival business? Customers shop online. They are casually surfing the internet and think to themselves; “Ohhh. Where can I get that thing I need? How expensive is it? Where is the closest place to buy?” These are all perfectly reasonable questions and all part of the shopping experience. The next step for the online shopper would be to check out the websites of the relevant businesses for the best possible deal. I’m sure your business [...]

Social media benefits for small business

5 Ways That Social Media Benefits Your Business

As a business owner, you are constantly at odds with your larger competitors. Social media benefits your business especially if competitors have a bigger budget. Often larger companies have a huge fanbase and can even cut prices at bulk supply if they need to. A small business can be outgunned or blocked out of the market by an endless supply of high-profile advertising that you simply cannot afford. It may seem hopeless competing with the big guns sometimes but [...]

Amateur web design can cost your business money

How Do You Know If Amateur Web Design Is Losing You Business?

OK. So it may seem obvious that quality is better than quantity but every business tries to save a bit of money where they can. We all have to budget and every business has areas where they try to cut costs. In this blog, we will explain why web design for your business cannot be one of them. If you hire cheap website designers then you get what you pay for. When you hire experienced, professional website designers they will [...]

WordPress specialist websites are better for your business

4 Reasons Why A WordPress Website Is Better For Your Business

WordPress is the favourite choice for many to use when designing business websites. The list of famous companies that use WordPress is endless including brands like BBC news, MTV, SONY music, Variety magazine. Heck, even NASA use it. It is by far the most successful CMS (Content Management System) tool in the business. As long as you know how to use it. It is probably not news to anyone that every business needs a website to survive this day and [...]

This is an alt-tag. Use your business keywords here.

Why visual content is important for your business website

People like pictures and videos in websites. This is because people retain around 50% more information seeing something visible than hearing about it. Word of mouth is good for your business website but a video is better. – 100 million internet users watch videos online a day. – 90% of shoppers said watching a video in a business website was helpful in making their purchasing decision. – 64% of people are likely to buy something from a business website after watching a [...]

Web Design Southampton

How important are website banners for your business?

Remember before the internet came along? When every business relied on using printed pages for advertising? The very meaning of the term ‘headline’ was because it appeared at the top or ‘head’ of the page. This is the best area to place your website banner because it’s the space that meets your natural line of sight. As time went on, this space obviously became the most important part of the page. When Radio/TV arrived the format of media adapted but the traditional [...]

Web Design Southampton

Southampton Web Design Specialists Spill All On Improving Business Emails

Every email that your company sends out should be engaging, interesting and relevant to every person receiving the email. Here at Sites For Business, your web design Southampton specialists, we have narrowed down our most effective ways of creating better emails. Include ONE call to action Every email MUST have a call to action. The content within your message must be engaging and should always steer them nicely to your call to action, without being overly persuasive. A call to [...]

Web Design Southampton

Web design Southampton experts reveal how social media improves SEO

Your web design Southampton specialists are working hard to circulate important information that will help your companies website and credibility. Did you know that the SEO of your website can be improved through a good social media strategy? If you’re looking at the screen blankly, we suggest you read on. Social media and SEO are two tightly interwoven strategies that will improve your ranking and credibility of your business website. These strategies present an organic improvement to creating an appealing [...]

Web Design Southampton

Web Design secrets revealed; free images for your website

  For many writing the content for a website can become the hardest task, however, if you’re having a crack at web designing then you know there’s something that trumps the endless words…  Pictures. Pictures can put a Web Designer or business website owner into a head spin, as they search for the right image to fit the right space and match the right colours. You see web designers, have an eye for perfection, which is always a good thing. But when [...]

Web Design Southampton

Learn how to protect and restore a hacked website

Your Web Design Southampton specialists are also quite savvy when it comes to backing up and preventing a virus attack. Here at Sites For Business, we are often asked how to deal with an infected or hacked website. Viruses and hackers can infect your website in many ways, which is why it’s important to protect your websites and to make sure they are safe in the first place. WordPress is the most popular content management platform after it overthrew its [...]

Web Design Southampton

Google is mapping out a new advertising strategy

In the age of technology we are relying heavily on our mobile devices, whether it’s for a local restaurant or a nearby shop – it’s always in reach at the click of a touch screen.  Google Maps have always been our first port of call when it comes to finding somewhere close to our door, and Google is beginning to realise how much we actually use it. Which is why Google Maps advertising is becoming a new initiative to strive [...]

Web Design Southampton

The importance of a business website

The growing age of technology is becoming even further integrated into our everyday lives. But why is it so important to us? Here at Sites for Business, your Web Design Southampton, we are keen to help you with your website management.  The World Wide Web, commonly known as ‘www’ is our port of call for information, from research to online shopping, we cannot simply life without it, can we? We have come too far to result back to the Yellow Pages, [...]

Web Design Southampton

Google social media on the plus side

Google+ and your business The world of social media is continuing to grow at an alarming rate! So we need to keep up. Let’s look at Google+ this social media site is often forgotten in the building of business strategies. Which is a great disappointment, because when used correctly it can make quite the impact. Have you ever noticed that when you type in keywords for the product or service you are looking for, that often a company will appear on the [...]

Web Design Southampton

Google is watching you: Our unusual ways to improve your ranking on Google

Here, at Sites For Business, we are continually faced with requests to improve a customer’s ranking on search engines. Endless businesses benefit from Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) for their rankings on Google (or other search engines). For a business to appear higher in the search engine results, it provides a good first impression, which persuades the customers to click on their site. The more clicks, the more clients. First impressions are key, and being at the top of Google [...]

Web Design Southampton

Sites For Business’ 15 Top Tips on attracting visitors to your website

Online traffic excites most businesses, as it provides proof that they’re showing their customers the most relevant content and targeting them in the best way possible. Here at Sites for Business, we understand that business owners require regular visitors on their websites and need a solution to convert them into clients. These 15 tips will help get you there! 1. Desert the billboards, we’re moving online The number one solution to gather more visitors is to run a paid advertising campaign, [...]

Web Design Southampton

Gain control of your customers feedback

For every business, it is very important to get feedback from their clients, but sometimes it is harder than it can look. According to an independent survey of 12,000 travellers, conducted by PhoCusWright: 53% said that they would not book a hotel that had no reviews 31% said they would avoid eating at a restaurant that had no reviews 76% said that they would not go to a restaurant that had several bad reviews Online reviews are a powerful marketing tool but they [...]

Web Design Southampton

Landing page – what is it and how it differs from a website?

A landing page works as the first port of call for your audience, it’s the first page that attracts them to your business – so make it count! Landing pages are separate to your website and despite some confusion are very different to a home page. To start any successful marketing campaign you must have a strong landing page to attract your audience. There is no navigation, which means there are no links for potential customers to get distracted by, [...]

Web Design Southampton

PPC Google Adwords Management Case Study – Home 2 Home Removals

“Home 2 Home Moves” (H2H) have decided to explore online marketing possibilities. They wanted to have a new stream of potential leads coming through their website. They approached “Sites For Business” without any knowledge about advertising possibilities online and asked for help. We have taken action First of all, we researched the market for the opportunities to advertise removals / moving companies business online. Our chosen platform – Google AdWords. When we compared how much they are able to spend (Customer Acquisition Cost) with the price [...]