Web Design

As technology advances and internet usage becomes endemic, it becomes more and more important for a business or company to maintain an online presence by way of a website. The company may hire a web design business to design and create a website that will suit their image and purpose. There are a number of factors to consider before choosing a web designer.

The first is the length of time it will take the designer to create the website; the quicker the website is up and running, the more beneficial it will be for the company.  An online presence is vital today, and if the company obtains an estimated completion date from the designer, it will ensure that their project is not side lined.

The second factor to take into account is the cost of the project.  A detailed breakdown of costs should be provided by the web designer, along with the overall cost of the project. the company must ensure that the cost falls within their budget.

A third factor to determine is what the project cost includes.  Some web design companies may offer follow-up meetings, and others may offer to help with future web design.  It is important to establish what is included and how it meets with your expectations of possible future projects.

A fourth option is the procurement of references from the client.  These references should confirm the professional image and service of the web design company and the quality of their finished products.

A fifth element to consider is the customer service skills of the web designer.  It is important to find a designer that will take into account the wishes and needs of the company and the type of image they are trying to promote.  It is important that the web design business is available for discussion and feedback.

In summary, the above factors are an important part of selecting a web design company in order to ensure that the finished product is reasonably-priced and carried out in an acceptable time frame.  They also help to ensure the hiring of a professional, client-oriented service that will work to provide a finished product that meets expectations.

 SEO

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation, and its aim is to ensure that a website appears as high as possible on the pages of results in search engines such as Google, Yahoo or Bing when certain keywords are entered.  A keyword, or search query is entered into the search engine by the internet user, and a set of suggested websites will appear.  Surfers tend to visit the websites that appear at the top for a number of reasons; not only do they see these websites first, but many will operate on the assumption that Google has “graded” the websites in order of applicability and merit.   Research conducted in 2010 by Chikita indicated that almost 34% of eight million searchers visited the number one website, nearly as much as numbers two, three, four and five combined.   The potential financial rewards of being one of these top websites have fuelled the growth of Search Engine Optimisation providers, as companies compete for the top spots.

Google’s aim is to provide surfers with the most useful and relevant results for their searches and it uses what is known as Google’s ranking algorithm or “algo” to determine the order of these results. Google uses more than two hundred factors or “signals” for each web page to establish its relevancy to the search query, whether to show it as part of the results and where it should appear on the list. An important part of the SEO expert’s job is to identify the optimum keywords to use for a company in order for its rank to be visible and within the top listings.

The factors used by Google can be divided into two categories; on-site SEO and off-site SEO. On-site SEO focuses on the company website; its wording, domain, background HTML etc.  In order for the website to appear at all in the Google results, several factors need to apply. Once Google becomes aware of the existence of your website, a “spider” or “robot” will read your website’s files. Each search engine has its own spider.  The content of the website is assessed for inclusion in search engine results; it is vital that this is coded and structured in a way that enables it to be read by a spider.

Off-site SEO focuses on back links or inbound links.  Back links are hyperlinks on other websites that direct users to your website when clicked on. These act almost as “votes” for the website and are seen by Google’s algo as indicating that your site is useful and relevant to internet users. Some back links are more useful than others, depending on the authority and content of the host website.  The best backlinks are found on high authority sites that contain your target keywords and relate to the same subject as your website.

On-site SEO may suffice for niche websites, where the target keywords are unusual, but off-site SEO is necessary if the keywords are highly competitive ones.  The quality of backlinks is more important than the quantity and Google clamps down on those sites that utilise large-scale spam schemes to obtain links. SEO services may also use conversion rate optimisation (CRO) to increase the visibility of your website.  This occurs when a user follows through on a suggested action on your website, such as purchasing an item or service, signing up for emails, or downloading a document.

SEO uses these techniques and more to ensure that the maximum numbers of the right kind of visitors are attracted to your website.  To be effective, SEO should be underpinned by relevant, useful content; a surfer- and robot-friendly website structure; good website promotion that clearly delineates content and continuous and effective management.

 Website Security

Our company is available to provide a number of different services for clients who are concerned about the protection and security of sensitive data.  We provide the latest technology in both Information and Computer security.  We can perform simple website audits, where we can identify weaknesses in your website’s security and areas where data may be stolen.  We can also, with your permission, carry out a complete penetration testing of your systems; this involves attacking and singling out vulnerabilities in information security that can lead to the theft of sensitive data.

The following are some examples of breaches of security that would have a negative impact on your business:

• Customer or client details being passed on to a competitor
• The theft of the credit card details of your customers or clients
• The theft or malicious modification of the purchasing data of your customers or clients
• The manipulation of your supply chain and product orders

Hackers with ill-intent towards your company may be skilled enough to hide their tracks sufficiently to ensure that detection may not occur for weeks or months, during which time untold damage may have been caused.  We are offering to perform a manual vulnerability test on your systems and report back on our findings.  This offer is for a limited time only; should we detect a vulnerability we shall immediately correct it and provide continuous monitoring if required.

The Data Protection Act of 1998 requires “adequate level of protection”, and many companies are not equipped to insure that their duties in this regard are carried out sufficiently to satisfy this requirement.

The Information Security Breaches Survey carried out by Price Waterhouse Cooper in 2010 found that breaches of security pose a growing problem for small and medium business enterprises.   Eighty-three per cent of these companies were found to have suffered a security breach in the previous year, with the average cost per incident ranging from £27,500 to £55,000.  This shows an increase from £10,000 to £20,000 in 2008.

Organisations that hold the personal details of customers and clients are usually more prone to malicious attacks on their information security, as they provide more opportunities for identity theft and the selling of mailing lists.  These organisations, which include dentists, lawyers, accountants and other similar types of business, often lack robust security systems.  A company’s reputation can be greatly damaged if their security system is proved to be compromised, and this decrease in goodwill can be more costly than the financial losses incurred.

Online Reputation Management

The success or downfall of a company depends in part on the goodwill that it builds with the public and its reputation as being trustworthy, transparent and dependable.  An adverse event that impacts on this goodwill and the company’s reputation can result in a reduction of income or a fall in share price, and an uphill battle to restore the good name of the business.  Widespread internet access ensures that feedback from customers is swift and not necessarily accurate.  While positive feedback enhances the reputation of the company and often encourages others to avail of their products and services, negative feedback can outweigh all the positives that have gone before it.  Negative feedback can be accurate or inaccurate, depending on the motivation and aim of the person writing it; disgruntled employees, dissatisfied customers and business rivals all have the potential to create a negative picture of the company.

Affiliate networking is hugely influential today, as are social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, and companies regularly market themselves on these kinds of websites.  A survey conducted in 2009 found that around seventy per cent of users are influenced by the comments and feedback left online.  These opinions and recommendations have an effect on the reputations of businesses, and need to be monitored and dealt with on a regular basis to ensure the continuing success of the companies involved.  This is where Online Reputation Management Companies come into play.

Ebay was one of the first online companies to implement customer and seller feedback and ratings; these ratings act as a guide to other users making a decision to buy or sell products.   This consumer-generated concept has become endemic ever since, ensuring the rise in demand for online reputation management.   The techniques of online reputation management include affiliate marketing and search engine marketing. The reputation of a company needs to be maintained through ensuring that one dis-satisfied customer does not become a large group of discontented customers.  Search Engine Optimisation experts can help to boost rankings and online visibility on search engines such as Yahoo!, Google and Bing. Research shows that customers generally only read the first two pages of search results, so one of the aims of online reputation management is to push the company up the ranks through positive feedback and high online visibility

There are three main stages in online reputation management.  The first one consists of SEO managers monitoring what is being said online about the company, both positive and negative.  Various alerts and RSS feeds can be set up to help with this monitoring, and the managers need to have a plan of action in place to influence online discussions.

The second step is analysing the information that has the potential to affect the name and goodwill of the company.  The corporate website, its product website, blogs and partner sites need to be reviewed regularly for potential threats.

The final step is interacting with and influencing online feedback to ensure customer satisfaction and a positive view of the company’s willingness to engage. Online blogs and forums wield enormous influence today, and it’s imperative that any negative feedback is responded to and dealt with.  Honest and truthful interaction with customers online is vital, and the ability to respond to and deal with criticism is a positive way to restore goodwill.  Confidential information should never be leaked online, and the company needs to be always ready to deal with any crisis in brand image and reputation.

Online reputation management works to maintain and increase the positive image of a company and allows more communication and transparency between the company and its customers. It aids improvement of services and products and is a vital part of any successful marketing plan.  Remember that it can take years to build the good name and reputation of a business and only seconds to destroy it.