http://www.websiteconsultancyservices.com en-gb websiteconsultancyservices.com 2010-7-17T00:00:00Z websiteconsultancyservices.com http://www.websiteconsultancyservices.com/page18.htm#70589 In todays world if you want to get ahead online it is about using social media tools to grow your brand and your online reputation in the eyes of your customers. There are many tools available to help do this but each tool has disadvantages and will require careful management. In this blog post we examine the use on user reviews looking at how they can grow your online business but how they can also be potentially harmful to growing your online reputation. Being online is all about being open and honest these days. Look at the phenomenal success of Tripadvisor and the way that Amazon has harnessed the power of user reviews to sell their products online. These are all success stories where user reviews are helping to drive organic traffic to the websites with this fresh and unique content enhancing these brand names.But with the growth of social media and with online users having a voice comes many threats. For example on the BBC Click program this morning they discussed the rising issu... 2010-7-17T00:00:00Z http://www.websiteconsultancyservices.com/page18.htm#67272 We are a few weeks into the most visible of Google changes with the new left hand navigation bar on the search results page and we were wondering what your thoughts were Do you like the new facility or do you find it unwelcome and unhelpful Google introduced these changes at the beginning of the month stating contextual relevance for the left hand navigation giving the search facility a new look and an updated Google logo if you hadnt of noticed. This now means when you carried out a search you will be able to update your search results by using a clear left hand navigation that has been introduced. You can choose to update your search results by news images videos blogs and have the ability to filter results for UK searches only and date ranges for search results. So do you think this helps when you are searching for results From reading other blogs and search engine websites online there are mixed reviews. PC World Blog writer Jared Newman said that he found the navigation bar ... 2010-5-27T00:00:00Z http://www.websiteconsultancyservices.com/page18.htm#64474 For some reason this week we were discussing the dot com bubble and recalling the companies who went bust in that time. The dot com bubble started around 1995 and lasted until about 2001 and was a period where the Internet had a boom and a lot of companies embarked on the World Wide Web. Due to a variety of factors there was a rise in stock valuations of dot com companies. Therefore the idea of dot com companies and the possibilities that the Internet promised meant that many entrepreneurs found it easier to find investment. However the dot com business model often relied on making a loss to build up market share and customers. But after the initial boom came the bust when the bubble burst and with many companies being overvalued when the burst happened this meant a dramatic fall in share prices and companies going out of business. Anyway Enough about the history... who were these companies who had such striking rises and then falls from grace Here we outline the three famous ones... 2010-4-28T00:00:00Z http://www.websiteconsultancyservices.com/page18.htm#61482 An eyetracking study in relation to websites is about monitoring where users look first on a web page and then the other areas to where their eyes are drawn. On websites there are many methods that can be employed to see how users read your website from heat maps to more extensive techniques such as videoing eye movements on a page. There have been many studies conducted on eyetracking most recently by Jakob Neilsen and Kara Pernice in their book Eyetracking Web Usability. These studies have highlighted some useful findings that should be considered in relation to website usability. The top 5 eyetracking findings which we felt were the most prominent were 1. There is no universal way that users look at a web page. However if the users want to do a specific action on the website they are more likely to behave similarly and have similar eye patterns when viewing the website. 2. Website users expect web standards and conventions. For example eyetracking research from Jakob Neilsen ... 2010-3-26T00:00:00Z http://www.websiteconsultancyservices.com/page18.htm#58148 Designing building and maintaining an eCommerce website needs careful consideration and an understanding of what YOUR customer wants. Website usability audits and user testing techniques are great tools to understand what customers want on your website but before you invest time and effort into these there are some relatively quick wins that can be implemented and followed from existing research that you should consider first. From some recent work which we have been carrying out within this area we have compiled a Top 5 list of what you need to consider on your website 1 Simplicity You should avoid a cluttered layout on your website. Your website design must spell out what you are offering and how easy it is to make a purchase. The website should be clear simple and also display an element of trust to customers. Your website must clearly convey to a customer that they will be able to receive their product in the most hasslefree manner and why they should pick you over anyone else... 2010-2-10T00:00:00Z http://www.websiteconsultancyservices.com/page18.htm#57226 If youre planning on launching or updating a website this year then you should be looking to design your website considering uptodate web design trends and practices not forgetting web standards. But what are the web design trends of 2010 The following article looks at this question and explores what some expected trends are likely to be and why you should pay attention when designing your website. 1 Simplicity Simplicity is becoming evident across a number of websites and this year we feel more and more websites are going to be focused on clearing out the clutter on their web pages. There will be a focus on simpler designs which create clear navigation paths and ease of use for the user. Website grids will become much bigger and that will mean that a web page will become less complicated which will mean one clear message will be able to be got across. 2 Imagery and Inspiration Images logos and text fontsize are going to play a major factor in 2010. There are already a number of we... 2010-1-28T00:00:00Z http://www.websiteconsultancyservices.com/page18.htm#55084 What a month in the world of search engines Weve spent the past month analysing the changes to ensure that we understand the effects to our customers and now feel in a position to write about it... also I think our heads have just stopped spinning from all the changes and fallout It all started on 7th December when Google introduced 5 new updates which were 1 The integration of realtime searches2 Hot topics on Google Trends3 Search by Voice in Japanese4 Whats Nearby on Google Maps 5 Google Goggles Launches into Labs for Andriods These 5 Google updates however appeared to mask a change that slipped in under the radar which was personalised searching regardless of whether you are logged into Google or not. Personalised searching is all about Google learning your searching behaviour and tailoring the results you see based on your choices . These changes are really significant and personalisation caused a storm within the SEO and search engine market place. These changes and note ... 2009-12-28T00:00:00Z http://www.websiteconsultancyservices.com/page18.htm#55083 There has been a lot of discussion recently on blogs discussing whether or not a website has a fold. On a website a fold relates to information you dont see when you visit a web page therefore all the information that is not on your screen and requires you to scroll down your browser is considered to be below the fold. Originally a newspaper term this has now moved into the online environment. Some of the discussions provide valuable insight into web page design and highlight good arguments to the question of whether a website has a fold or not. Some of the more interesting articles are Website design page fold is no barrier for online browsers The myth of page fold evidence from user testing However balancing out the above articles is an interesting report from Econsultancy that looks at what should be above the fold on an ecommerce site. They felt that even though findings from the above articles were compelling the fold is still important as it is what users will see when ... 2009-11-25T00:00:00Z http://www.websiteconsultancyservices.com/page18.htm#49525 The Internet poses both opportunities and challenges for marketing. It has become established as a global channel through which both existing and potential customers can be targeted and through which organisations can publicise and present commercial offerings. The Internet means becoming international by definition and can deliver many aspects of any organisations global marketing strategies ranging from branding database building to providing customer service forming relationships building loyalty and instilling advocacy in existing customers. Virtually everything that originally passed as conventional marketing wisdom could be said to be changing. Customers are now able to look for alternatives at the click of a mouse. Through the Internet switching brands has become easy and customer loyalty can no longer be taken for granted. Simply put the power has shifted. Online customers can now control how and when they interact with companies essentially transforming the traditional rel... 2009-10-27T00:00:00Z http://www.websiteconsultancyservices.com/page18.htm#49094 The Internet is full of websites trying to sell the online customer something. There is a vast selection of products and services that are available at the click of a mouse and this selection attracts customers and enhances the appeal of the Internet. Regardless of the way customers find an online company they want to know that the company has what they are looking for. Research has found that online shoppers expect a greater selection of products from online companies compared to brick and mortar establishments. This is because consumers perceive that online stores incur lower operating costs e.g. no retail display space expenses merchandising costs etc. and therefore should be able to offer a larger selection. It is also noted that customers are likely to perceive little added value to shopping online if websites do not provide more variety in choice than traditional retail companies. Therefore if a company has a rich product assortment the probability of consumer needs and wan... 2009-9-20T00:00:00Z http://www.websiteconsultancyservices.com/page18.htm#48881 It is important to remember when developing your website and its service that online customer service is vital. Your customers are not dealing with a face to face contact or a physical store and therefore the service policies and procedures must instill a sense of trust to them. Dont forget when designing your website that when a customer is online and they become confused or have a question it acts like a stop sign. It is argued that the ability to contact an online companys representative increases a customers confidence in the company. In addition to be accessible it is also important that your website is responsive to customer enquiries requests etc in a timely manner. The quicker your website responds to customer concerns the greater the level of satisfaction customers have with your website and are more likely they are to visit your website again. Following and understanding these principles are vital to achieve impressive online customer service. You need to ensure that you... 2009-9-16T00:00:00Z http://www.websiteconsultancyservices.com/page18.htm#48631 Convenience is a key driver in a customers mind and is the key to online shopping adoption. It is important to remember that customers will get frustrated by a website which has a poorly designed navigational structure as this will impact on the amount of time they will have to search and the time required for information processing. Make sure that your website is uncluttered and easy to navigate to reduce the cognitive effort the customer has to expend figuring out how to shop effectively online. A lot of thought must therefore be given to how your users can search for productsservices on your website. Good website navigation entails telling visitors where they are how they got there how they can get back and where they can go to next. Related to your website navigation is the quality of information provided. Specifically the ability to easily navigate a website becomes inconsequential if the information found is not useful. Quality of information is determined by the degree to wh... 2009-9-13T00:00:00Z http://www.websiteconsultancyservices.com/page18.htm#48214 A websites awareness and image is an essential element for being registered and recognised in the customers mind. There are many websites providing similar products and services and it is important that you make your websites the one that customers think of first. The user interface that you offer aids the effectiveness of your website. You should look at an integrated approach to examining and evaluating your websites which bridges both technical and content factors with human factors. This is vital as all businesses should strive for competitive advantage in their websites by designing them around the needs wants and preferences of targeted customers. Remember the website loading time and graphical interface is the first thing that the customer will see your homepage is your shop window. It must therefore grab their attention be easy to navigate around and not lead to frustration in any way. Frustration can be brought about by slow downloading time lack of information on pro... 2009-9-5T00:00:00Z http://www.websiteconsultancyservices.com/page18.htm#47399 Online customers are a sceptical bunch they have been trained by the media to expect all kinds of online scams that are waiting to pick their pockets. Research by Forrester found that many customers consider the lack of security as the main inhibiting factor to adopting online purchase behaviour and therefore perceiving purchasing online to be risky. Specific concerns centred around credit card security and about disclosing financial information. Also privacy concerns have often been cited as another key reason why consumers do not make online purchases over the Internet. A Business Week poll of Internet users who had not yet purchased anything over the Internet found that 94 per cent of respondents were either very or somewhat concerned that companies they might buy from might use their information to send them unwanted information. Customers are also not only concerned about security and privacy but the risk of not being able to return a product if unsatisfied and the risk ... 2009-8-23T00:00:00Z http://www.websiteconsultancyservices.com/page18.htm#44737 Research has shown that much of an individuals attitude towards making purchases can be thought of in terms of trust. Can a company be trusted Thats the first thought most people will have when considering whether they should be dealing with a company or not. Trust is thought to be the cornerstone for a successful and lasting relationship with the customer and trust will largely determine the customers future behaviour and loyalty towards a company. Trust exists when one party has extreme confidence in the exchange partners dependability and this trust will tend to influence relationship commitment. As relationships lean towards trust as a key component parties will desire to commit themselves to stable relationships. Trust is the glue that determines relationship commitment. To overcome any problems related to trust there are two main antecedents of trust which customers potentially look for are as follows 1 Shared values This looks at the extent to which partners have... 2009-7-11T00:00:00Z http://www.websiteconsultancyservices.com/page18.htm#43721 There is no doubt that social media is becoming one of the marketing platforms for businesses to propel themselves personably to clients and build a brand reputation but what are the factors you need to consider before you take on developing your company brand and identity in this area Firstly you need to decide whether social media is right for you and your company. Just because everyone else is doing it that isnt a good enough reason for you to start. You need to consider the resources and time needed. Secondly you need to think whether your target audience use social media and whether you will reach them effectively if you spend time and energy developing in this area. Undoubtedly with social media growing at a phenomenal pace it seems likely that some strands will reach your clients. If you do decide that social media is an area to develop then you need to consider which social media methods to use. Social media methods include blogs podcasts forums business networks o... 2009-6-22T00:00:00Z http://www.websiteconsultancyservices.com/page18.htm#42703 We all know that it is important that when a visitor comes to your website for the first time that it needs to grab their attention but what are the main areas you need to focus on to make sure that they come back time and time again The four main areas which we feel are key are 1 Focus on engaging your visitors attention 2 Make sure you are relevant to your target audience 3 Be responsive to what your website statistics are telling you 4 Make sure you understand your visitors needs and wants If we look at these in more detail we can see why they are so important when looking at your websites usability. 1 Focus on engaging your visitors attention You will need to ensure that when a visitor comes to your website that it doesnt immediately make them bounce off and go to another website. To ensure that the visitor looks further into your website make sure the design is userfriendly and that the content is engaging. When we say engaging we mean that the content i... 2009-6-3T00:00:00Z http://www.websiteconsultancyservices.com/page18.htm#42227 A question that is always asked and an area which varies in response and opinion seems to be the importance of a websites footer. Is the website footer useful Should it be optimised for search engines Or is it something of less and less importance Opinion is divided on the importance of footers in search engine optimisation SEO. There is a school of thought that places great emphasis on the role of the website footer in aiding the ranking of your website but on the other hand there is the thought that website footer plays an insignificant role these days. We believe the website footer plays a lesser role in SEO but you still need to be smart in the way that you decide to use it. As Ann Smarty states in the Search Engine Journal make your website footer useful and try not to break any search engine rules. She highlights the dos and donts as 183 Make sure you add keyword anchor text navigational links to useful pages 183 Add a copyright notice as it makes your webs... 2009-5-25T00:00:00Z http://www.websiteconsultancyservices.com/page18.htm#41890 A rival for Google Can we changing our search patterns Interesting news this week as a new search engine from Wolfram Alpha is launched and starts to pose the question of whether this can rival Google and even change the way that we search for information on the Internet Google has had dominance over the Internet for years but recently they have experienced a few problems such as downtime and issues related to security with Google Docs . So with a new search engine being launched is it more likely that users may be willing to give a new search engine a go Indeed there are people that think that Googles dominance will not last . The new Wolfram Alpha Search is based on semantic search and is called a computation knowledge engine. This means that it will bring back direct answers rather than giving a set of search results and websites to go and search for your answer. Stephen Wolfram the founder and chief executive of Wolfram Research who invented the system state... 2009-5-19T00:00:00Z http://www.websiteconsultancyservices.com/page18.htm#41886 UK Geographical regions and counties how do websites capture and display information Facebook puts Cardiff in England We stumbled across this article today about how websites deal with geographical regions and it hit a note with us. We believe that this is a question that always arises when developing websites where search or registration involves inputting your county andor region. We have seen it many times that freelance web designers use a list or previous database of counties and dont consider updates or changes. We have found websites with many problems such as Old counties being displayed such as Avon which should be South Gloucestershire Sussex lumped into one and not divided into East or West Towns being displayed as counties Websites not being able to correctly state the counties in Wales and Scotland You may ask whether this is a big deal or not but you need to consider your marketing strategy. Accurate capturing of data is vital to pro... 2009-5-19T00:00:00Z