I had a phone call today from a potential new client.  The conversation went something like this…

“Hi Seamus, I’d like a quote for a new web site.  I hear you’re the man to talk to.  I hear you know what you’re doing”.

I liked the sound of this guy.  He’s obviously a sharp individual.

After confirming that he’d indeed come to the right place, I asked my favorite killer question.  “What kind of site do you think you’ll need?”

My potential new client proceeded to talk about how he wants a “basic” web site with a Home page with a welcome message on it, an About Us page, a Services page and a Contact page.”

I clarified my question.  “Sorry, I meant do you want a web site that brings in customers or one that simply sits on the Internet wondering if they’ll ever show up?”  I could sense by the pause on the line that he was thinking.

What Kind of Web Site Do You Need?

I’m pretty sure that very few business owners create a web site just for the heck of it.

Most often, the objective of a web site should be to attract the attention of customers who don’t know your company exists – before converting their visit to an enquiry or sale.

“Do you want a web site that brings in customers or one that simply sits on the Internet wondering if they’ll ever show up?”

The best way to attract the attention of new customers is to ensure that your web site can be found when they search for your products and services online.  It is also extremely important that your site has relevant and useful content that encourages them to do business with you.

Carefully Planned Web Sites Can Bring You More Customers

A site that brings customers to you will have had careful planning; it will have been designed for your particular business sector and your customer’s needs; and it will have been built with search engine placement firmly in mind.

It will have its navigation designed to match what your customer is searching for, it will have plenty of useful content to engage them, it will have clear calls to action such as “Call Us Now!” and it will have plenty of search engine friendly text in all the right places.

The alternative is a site that is short on content, short on search engine rankings and short on visitors and enquiries.  It is also most likely a site that will drift off into the great Internet wilderness, difficult to find, rarely to be seen and never to bring any return on investment.

It’s no coincidence that the sites most likely to fade into oblivion are those sites that are poorly thought out and that are built on a low budget.

Why do so many companies offer basic low cost web site designs?

There are loads of web design companies that can and will build you a low cost web site.  They’ll happily pump out a template based site in a couple of days with absolutely no thought applied to it, especially if the site owner isn’t clear about what he wants the site to achieve.

With no measures of success required, and no come back, those web designers have nothing to lose. Meanwhile, the site owner will have spent his budget.  He’ll most likely notice no benefit from the site.  In a relatively short time, he’ll probably come to the realization that he will have to start all over again.

Get back to the point!

Getting back to my telephone call today, my advice to my potential new client was simple:  Have your web site designed and created by a professional, be prepared to invest in it and you’ll see a return on that investment.  Otherwise, find someone who will build your web site for absolutely nothing.  Because you’re about to waste your money!

Ask someone who knows

If you’d like to discuss how we can build you a web presence that actually brings customers to you, then please get in touch.

We do “know what we’re doing”.

It appears that the lady concerned was reported by one of her Facebook “friends” for uploading a photograph that her “friend” found unbecoming of a teacher.

The school concerned asked for access to the Facebook page in order to investigate the complaint.

The lady refused and insisted that she had done nothing wrong and that her Facebook page was private. The local education authority decided that she was guilty until proven innocent and duly suspended her from her duties.

Now, I’m not going to comment on what may or may not be deemed appropriate for any particular trade or profession. What I do find incensing is that employers and agencies are leaning towards believing they have the right to access, judge and act on the private actions of an individual. I mean, if this lady had sent an unbecoming photo through the post, would her employer be within their rights to open the letter?

Personally, I believe we’re only a stones throw away (ok, maybe only if you throw like a girl!) from watching Facebook become instrumental in facilitating the erosion of personal privacy.  I’m not exactly pointing the finger at Facebook.   I just believe it will be instrumental in helping authorities, agencies and organisations to pry on our private lives.

So, while I can see the benefits of using Facebook for business, Im still far from convinced of the real value in us posting our personal lives on any online platform.

What do you think?

Specialising in Dab Pumps, Gareth and the lads down at DPS really know their stuff when it comes to providing submersible water pumps and Jet Pumps.

A special thanks to all at ESB who proved more than friendly, very helpful and where who were very pleased with the results

TakeawayNI.com is the take away menu directory for Northern Ireland.

Providing contact details for Takeaway Northern Ireland outlets, TakeawayNI is a fast, effective way to access the Takeaway menus you desire without having to rummage though drawers for that menu that came through the door a few weeks ago!

Well, its the term used to describe the behaviour of many top web search services and web sites to ‘Personalise’ your experience and the information presented to you.

Google, Facebook and many others now use a range of factors to assess the relevance of the results and commercial suggestions they present to you. The results and content you see can be very different to those seen by others for the same subject search.

Every year, thousands of entrepreneurs, change-makers, innovators and scientists gather in Long Beach, California for TED, the world’s leading thought conference. In 2011, the audience included executives from Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and many other Silicon Valley startups.

Eli Pariser explained the filter bubble concept and then called on them from the main stage to change how they do business, it wasn’t at all clear how they’d react…

DuckDuckGo

One new search engine gaining popularity is www.duckduckgo.com.  DuckDuckGo is operated by one individual, but is attracting some attention in the geek world.

Not least because of its fanatical support for the privacy of its users.   There’s a great explanation of how Google tracks your use of the Internet and how Google filters your results and experiences on the web.