How much does it take to destroy a reputation? What does it take to drastically shake up the career of a powerful person? In Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s case, it was a 46 word email that was sent to a mid-ranking Treasury official that has resulted in ute-gate; allegations of inappropriate financial conduct with a car dealer by the name of John Grant. Whether the allegations are true or not, Rudd’s reputation is being called into question and, if you run a website that is important to you, you should take care to make sure that the horrors of ute-gate do not happen to you!
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by Suncoast Internet TeamNo Comments »
Suncoast Internet is getting back to nature with Australian Off Road Campers as the newest website development project to get under way.
Steve and Rhonda came to us about the possibility of having search engine optimisation (SEO) on their website in order to get their site placed higher than their competitors in search engine results.
Having been suitably impressed by the quality and workmanship of the hand built campers that were in the showroom and being constructed in the onsite factory, we realised that, although their existing website was reasonably functional, it did not reflect the superior quality of these campers.
In collaboration with Steve and Rhonda, we are working out a comprehensive web development plan and SEO strategy to get a sparkling new, professional looking website up and running for their exciting business. Watch this space or, better still, watch the search engine rankings!
by Suncoast Internet TeamNo Comments »
Have you started Bing-ing yet?
You may have noticed Microsoft’s new search engine which has replaced Live Search and is curiously named Bing. Available in Australia only in beta form at the moment, apparently, the choice of name is down to the desire to ‘verb up’ the word ‘bing’ much as we do already with Google. The idea being that instead of searching for a website, we will Bing it!
Bing and Google have different algorithms for crawling websites which is why you can get different search results. But since Microsoft have confirmed that there have been no major changes to the MSNBot crawler, SEO professionals don’t have to go and work out what it likes. The bottom line for SEO is still all about quality content and good, relevant links.
The biggest difference between Google and Bing, is the presentation. Users will be impressed by the widlife photography currently on offer when they first view the site, plus some results are categorised in the full blown non-beta version. The categories facility is leading some SEO commentators to sugggest that maximising the appropriate categories on your site would be good SEO practice for Bing in order to show up in the relevant categories in search results.
The jury’s still out on how long it will take for Australia to get the full blown version of Bing but meanwhile, try it yourself and let us know what you think.
Read more about what makes good SEO.
by Suncoast Internet Team2 Comments »
Also known as associate, referral and bounty programs, an affiliate program is a partnership with an online merchant in which the affiliate earns a commission for referring sales and/or leads to the merchant’s online store. Simply put, affiliate marketing is commission selling on the Internet. Commissions may be based on the purchase amount (Pay per Sale), a set value for each visit (Pay-per-click), or action such as registration or download (Pay per Lead).
Tens of thousands of merchants from sole proprietors and Mum and Pop operations to major corporations such as Sony and Dell have their own affiliate programs. From a merchant’s perspective, partnering with affiliates is an inexpensive marketing strategy to increase sales, drive traffic, generate qualified leads and extend brand reach. From an affiliate’s perspective, few other businesses online or off are as relatively inexpensive and simple to start and maintain.
4-point overview of how affiliate marketing works.
- You join an affiliate program and you are given a unique affiliate identification and access to your special links and marketing materials.
- You place your affiliate links on your web site, or in your newsletter.
- A visitor on your site clicks that link and buys a product, service or fills out a form at the merchant’s site.
- You earn a commission for sales and/or leads generated through your links.
Read more about Affiliate Marketing
by Suncoast Internet Team1 Comment »
Being found on page one of the major search engines is one of the number one marketing techniques you can use.
It’s all about bringing targeted traffic and visitors to your site for your niche. Not only that but it is often one of the least costly kinds of advertising even if you hire an expert to do it for you.
For example a Sunshine Coast search engine optimisation company may charge a few hundred dollars a month for their services. In comparison you would easily spend upwards of a thousand dollars trying to get similar results from paper ads. And optimising your site can give it much a broader exposure.
Before you even begin to optimize your site you need to think about which keywords you wish to rank for.
by Suncoast Internet Team1 Comment »
Understandably many people don’t understand the money making potential of the Internet! Whilst there are literally billions of websites online, a very large percentage of them are below par and consequently sit idle, this being the case it’s not as competitive as you might think. Building a business online can be very rewarding and a great way to create an income. This being the case seek advice and learn how to do it right the first time.
There are many online tutorials and good quality information available relevant to developing a successful business online. Alternatively find a local web development company with some runs on the board and seek their advice. We also have a number of articles that you might find beneficial.
by Suncoast Internet TeamNo Comments »
The name’s Google… Google the poodle. I’m the chief meeter and greeter at Suncoast Internet. I take my role as guardian of the reception desk very seriously and I ensure each visitor is given a thorough welcome…whether they like it or not.
My job description includes spotting visitors before the rest of the staff, jumping up and down with excitement and running from room to room in a display of total and utter (workplace appropriate) joy. Visitors can also expect additional welcome apparatus in the form of a Winnie the Pooh or, if they are really well behaved, a piece of paper from a waste paper bin, as this will help them in their meeting.
I prefer to be included in important meetings as there are key contributions that I can make. If people have forgotten to invite me into the meeting room, I always make it my business to remind them about it by making the relevant "what about me" noises outside as, currently, I can’t quite reach the door handle.
I also help keep the staff in check as sometimes they can become unruly. See photo for an illustration of my HR techniques.
If you need advice about how to conduct yourself, your visitors or your staff in the workplace, just ask Google.
Woof woof for now.
by Suncoast Internet Team4 Comments »
(Intellectual Property workshop)
Intellectual Property (IP) is the umbrella like tag we use when referring to a wide variety of individual intellectual property rights. Each IP right has its own distinctive features and uses.
Using an inappropriate IP right will fail to provide the protection you require for the best business outcome. Semi-trailers are not used for the home delivery of pizzas nor are motor scooters used to carry shipping containers. Which vehicle to use may be self evident but when it comes to IP the stakes are too high to run the risk of not knowing your patents from your designs.
Paul Loeffler-White from IP Australia will share valuable information in the following areas, so come along and get to know your IP!
• Patents
• Trade marks
• Designs
• Copyright
Date: Tuesday 16th June 2009
Time: 9:30am for a 10:00am start to 12:00pm
Venue: Lake Kawana Community Centre, Sportsmans Parade, Bokarina.
Price: $40.00 (Inc. GST)
For more information view the attached information sheet or visit www.entreprenet.com.au
Enquiries: Geoff Moller, Ph 5443 7872 or 0411 351 110
info@entreprenet.com.au
About the presenter:
Mr Paul Loeffler-White is the Manager of IP Australia’s Queensland State Office. His background is in applied physics and industrial instrumentation.
Paul worked in the areas of legal metrology, fair trading and product safety before moving to IP Australia 15 years ago. The Queensland Office is the regional focal point for applicants seeking intellectual property rights relating to inventions, branding, design features and plant breeder’s rights.
Paul is actively involved in promoting an awareness of IP issues to the business and general community. He has an extensive knowledge and understanding of IP issues and their processes as well as an in depth understanding of a range of strategic issues facing the public and private sectors particularly their effect on small to medium enterprises. Paul is a regular speaker on topics such as patents, trademarks and designs.
by Suncoast Internet Team2 Comments »
Trying to get together some web content for your website? Stuck? Don’t be. We’ve got some top tips for content gathering for frustrated website owners.
Do you have a catalogue? Most probably it contains a lot of the information that customers will be looking for.
What’s your company history? It’s a good idea to let your customers know if you are an established, reputable business.
Have you won awards or recognition from professional organisations? Don’t be afraid to blow your own trumpet and include any details of these as it cultivates trust in and credibility for your website. In the same vein, try to include some customer testimonials.
Images: Do you have logos, photos or illustrations of products from your suppliers? How about your staff? Is yours the sort of business that could include bios and photos of the staff? Bear in mind though that they should be given adequate about this so that people can look their best! Don’t forget to make sure that your images aren’t too big as this will slow down the time it takes for your page to load up. We accept images in JPEG and GIF format.
Do you get the same questions asked repeatedly in your line of business? Think about including a list of FAQs.
Deciding on web content can be one of the most challenging aspects of building a website but you probably already have most of the materials you need as you may be using them in your day to day business activities. But if you’re really stuck, you can talk to the nice copywriters at Suncoast Internet to point you in the right direction!
by Suncoast Internet Team3 Comments »
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