Thankfully all that has changed and it is now incredibly easy to get selling online and to start taking payments (I can now have a great looking E Commerce site up and running in a matter of days).

The game changer for me was Shopify, I have been using them for years and we run our website www.Thebeerclub.ie on it. It is a great way to test an idea and to get your E Commerce store up and running quickly – the buzz of your first order is amazing!

Shopify offer a 14 day Free trial so you can play around with it and see if it is right for you!

Below is a little history of the company and further information on it’s key features –

Background

If you don’t want to join them, try your best to beat them.

That’s the philosophy Tobias Lütke, Daniel Weinand, and Scott Lake followed when they created their own eCommerce platform, Shopify.

Based out of Ontario, Canada, Shopify began as a better way for the trio to sell their snowboards online. Since its founding in 2006, though, Shopify has grown to be much more. The company now hosts more than 325,000 stores worldwide and has facilitated over $24 billion in transactions.

And it’s not just about snowboards anymore. Shopify merchants sell everything from handmade soaps to refrigerators, and Shopify hosts a handful of big-name clients, including the Foo Fighters, Amnesty International, and Github.

As a fully hosted, web-based platform, Shopify specializes in simplicity and ease of use. And despite its lack of some advanced features, Shopify’s platform provides the basics that can support most merchants. The rest can be added on with integrations and applications.

Shopify is one of the shopping carts that we most frequently recommend here at Merchant Maverick, quirks and all; it’s fully deserving of its high marks. Keep reading to find out why.

Pricing

Shopify’s pricing plans are billed on a month-by-month basis. While there are no contracts to sign, if you choose to purchase a full year-long plan, you can save 10%. If you purchase two years at a time, you’ll save 20%.

Here’s the full rundown of Shopify’s four basic pricing tiers.

Shopify Lite plan: $9/month

• Credit Card Rate:
  • 2.9% + 30¢ Online
• Transaction Fee:
  • 2.0%
  • No transaction fee if you use Shopify Payments. If you choose an external payment gateway, there will be a variable transaction fee, based on your plan.
• Features:
  • Unlimited bandwidth
  • Unlimited number of products
  • Unlimited online storage
  • Facebook integration
  • Chat & Email Support
  • One staff account (in addition to the owner’s account)

Basic Shopify plan: $29/month

• Credit Card Rate:
  • 2.9% + 30¢ Online
• Transaction Fee:
  • 2.0%
• Additional Features:
  • Pinterest integration
  • 24/7 Support
  • Shopify Mobile
  • Discount code engine
  • Free Shopify Card Reader
  • Online store and Blog
  • Two staff accounts (in addition to the owner’s account)

Shopify plan: $79/month

• Credit Card Rate:
  • 2.6% + 30¢ Online
• Transaction Fee:
  • 1.0%
• Additional Features:
  • Gift cards
  • Professional reports
  • Abandoned cart recovery
  • Five staff accounts (in addition to the owner’s account)

Advanced Shopify plan: $299/month

• Credit Card Rate:
  • 2.4% + 30¢ Online
• Transaction Fee:
  • 0.5%
• Additional Features:
  • Advanced report builder
  • Real-time carrier shipping
  • Fifteen staff accounts (in addition to the owner’s account)

If you’d prefer a visual representation of Shopify’s plans (not including Shopify Lite or Shopify Plus), this screen shot might help you out.

You may have noticed the transactions fees listed under each plan. While most other shopping carts have eliminated transaction fees, Shopify maintains theirs, which is, no doubt, a pain. On the other hand, Shopify waives those transaction fees if you choose to use Shopify Payments as your payment gateway. More on Shopify Payments in the Payment Processing section.

Web-Hosted or Licensed

Shopify is web-hosted, SaaS (Software as a Service) technology. You’ll never have to worry about coordinating with a third party hosting service.

Hardware and Software Requirements

Because Shopify is a web-based platform, all you need to access it is a computer, an internet connection, and a reliable web browser.

Ease of Use

There’s a Free 14 Day Trial available for you to test out Shopify, no credit card required. When you sign up, you’ll receive an email with a login for your admin as well as a link you can use to view your storefront. The account automatically cancels at the end of fourteen days; in order to activate it again, you have to purchase a plan.

I think you’ll be pleased with your trial of Shopify’s admin. Ease of use is what Shopify does best.

Shopify’s dashboard is clean and orderly.

Although there is no tutorial video or setup wizard, Shopify helps you get started with a checklist on your dashboard. From here, you can choose a theme, add products, and set up your domain (you can also purchase a domain from Shopify. Last I checked it cost $13).

Adding products is easy. It only takes a few clicks and keystrokes.

There’s a visual theme editor available, and you can preview all of your changes before your store goes live. Read more about the theme editor in the Web Design section of this article.

The only thing about the admin which really bothers me is that the pages don’t load immediately. I often have to wait a few seconds before the next page is ready. It’s slightly irritating, but it really isn’t too bad.

Overall, Shopify gets an A+ in terms of ease of use.

Why not sign up for that Free 14 Day Trial to try it out for yourself?

Features

Shopify comes with all of the basic features you need to set up shop, right out of the box. Advanced functionality often requires add-on applications, but if you don’t need to have a bunch of bells and whistles, Shopify likely has enough features to get you rolling.

You should note that some of these features are only available with higher level plans. Look into each plan before you purchase.

Checkout

• Language Capabilities. Your checkout can be displayed in over 50 different languages.
• Automatic Shipping Rates. Shopify calculates shipping rates from UPS, USPS, and FedEx (available only in the Shopify Advanced Plan). And, you can select the factors that determine the cost of shipping, whether it be a fixed rate, a tiered rate, a weight-based rate, or a location-based rate.
• Abandoned Cart Recovery. When a customer leaves items in their carts without purchasing, you can automatically send an email to encourage them to complete their purchase.
• Automatic Tax Calculator. Shopify calculates tax rates based on your location and the locations of your customers.

Store Management

• Guest Checkout. Don’t let a customer’s fear of commitment keep them from purchasing. Shopify allows customers to buy without creating an account.
• Customer Accounts. On the other hand, customers are also able to create personal accounts to make future transactions easier and to receive your promotional emails.
• Customer Segmentation. Use those customer accounts to find out more about your customers and to group them by factors like location, shopping tendencies, and demographics.
• Fulfillment Center Options. Shopify connects with fulfillment services like Amazon, Rakuten Super Logistics, and Shipwire.
• Dropshipping Apps. Shopify integrates with Ordoro, Inventory Source, and eCommHub.

Marketing and SEO

• SEO Best Practices. Shopify follows SEO best practices with features like a customizable H1 and the ability to write title and meta tags as well as product tags. Also, a sitemap.xml is automatically generated for your store.
• Discounts. You can create discount codes and coupons. Gift cards are available at higher plans.
• Social Media Integration. Sync your information with Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr. You can even use Shopify to sell on Facebook, provided that your page and products comply with Facebook’s Terms.
• Email Templates. Shopify comes with its own email template. The platform also integrates with Mailchimp if you’re looking for more complex email functionality.
• Product Reviews. Let your customers give your products star ratings and write comment-style reviews. Potential customers will trust your brand more if they know that others approve of it.
• Analytics. Use Shopify’s built-in analytics to view product reports, export reports, and traffic reports. Or, you can integrate with Google Analytics.

Product Management

• List Unlimited Products. Keep track of all of those products with Shopify’s inventory management and product category organization features.
• Product Variations. List variations on your products like size, color, and material. You can list up to 100 combinations per product.
• Digital Products. Sell both physical and digital products from the same site.
• Bulk Import/Export. Use this feature to facilitate migration from your previous platform.

Web Hosting

• Unlimited Bandwidth. You’ll never be charged bandwidth overage fees.
• Daily Backups. Ensure your content is saved.
• Automatic Upgrades. Keep your site up to date with Shopify’s newest features, without any effort on your part.
• 99.9% Uptime. With a record like that, you can be confident that your store will stay online through high traffic seasons.

Shopify Mobile

• Access your Site from Anywhere. Use Shopify’s app to manage your admin from your mobile device.

But, wait! There’s more! For Shopify’s full features list, click here.

Web Design

Shopify’s web design is truly beautiful. There are 53 mobile responsive themes available and nine of them are free. The rest are priced between $120-$180.

These themes are among the best I’ve seen. They’re professional, elegant, and easy for your customers to navigate.

Editing these themes is also relatively simple. Using the WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor, you can update content on your pages quickly. The theme editor in the backend allows you to make small changes to your theme and to preview those changes in real time, without reloading the page. From the theme editor, you can change backgrounds, images, colors, and fonts without ever touching a piece of code (hallelujah). This is what the theme editor looks like.

Shopify has also recently introduced a new way of theme editing. It’s called Sections, and it’s currently available with select themes. Sections is almost a drag and drop feature. You can arrange the order of your storefront’s widgets by dragging and dropping elements in the toolbar on the left. Shopify hopes to make Sections a feature of all of its themes soon.

Here’s what the Sections theme editor looks like.

On the other hand, if coding is your thing, there’s an HTML/CSS editor. You should note that Shopify themes are built with Shopify’s own coding language, Liquid. Here’s an example of Liquid code.

If you know what any of that means, congratulations. For the rest of us, I’ll translate a bit. Liquid is a flexible code that allows changes in the admin to be featured on your site. While I personally do not speak computer, I’ve read several reviews from developers that praise Liquid as an easy-to-learn and easy-to-use language. So, that’s a plus.

Although Shopify is not open source, further customization is still an option. There are Shopify Experts ready to help you with that.

Integrations and Add-on

The Shopify App store is one of the most extensive I’ve seen. With over 1500 apps available, I can say with certainty that Shopify integrates with whatever you’re looking for.

A word of warning: Part of the reason Shopify’s App store is so extensive is because Shopify stores often have to use applications in order to get all the features they want. While Shopify does a great job offering the features most stores need, any additional functionality requires an app.

So, if you want to add faceted search AND automated email marketing AND one-page checkout, you’re going to have to spring for three apps, most of which are billed on a monthly basis. That can get expensive. Make sure you know which features you need before joining Shopify. While Shopify is typically one of the least expensive shopping carts, it can quickly become the most expensive option if you need lots of advanced features.

(If you’re looking for an easy-to-use cart with lots of advanced features already built in, I suggest you take a look at Zoey. Their plans are slightly more expensive than Shopify’s, but you won’t have to purchase as many add-ons.)

Payment Processing

Shopify integrates with over 70 Gateways, including Paypal & Stripe.

As I’ve mentioned before, Shopify also offers its own payment method, Shopify Payments. With Shopify Payments not only do you enjoy 0% transaction fees, but also you may benefit from reduced credit card fees. Shopify Payments is currently available to merchants in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, and Ireland. Take a look at the graphic below to see what credit card fees would be for your plan.

Positive Reviews and Testimonials

Shopify has far more positive reviews than negative. Here are the most commonly voiced pros.

• Ease of Use. As I’ve said before, ease of use is Shopify’s niche. You can get a store up and running in just a day. It’s a great approach for startup and midsize businesses alike, even if you have very little experience with creating a website.
• Beautiful Themes. A professional-looking site inspires trust in your customers. Shopify helps by providing the best-looking themes I’ve seen from an eCommerce platform.
• Liquid Coding. Isn’t it strange how sometimes a negative can become a positive? Although Liquid does take a bit to learn, once you’ve got it down, it’s easy to make changes to your theme at the base level. Most developers love Liquid.
• Good Customer Service. I can only shrug.

Other customers mentioned:

• A Well Documented REST API. It’s easy to build integrations and applications.
• The Benefits of a Fully-Hosted Platform. It’s nice to not have to worry about organizing a third part host for your site.

Security

Shopify is Level 1 PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) compliant, which is the gold standard for eCommerce platforms. Every merchant gets a free 128-bit shared SSL certificate.

Shopify is currently working on encrypting every page on every site that they host. You just have to opt-in. Read more about why and how to encrypt your store on their blog.

Final Verdict

If you’re looking for an easy-to-use, dependable, and elegant online platform for your store, you can stop the search now. I feel confident recommending Shopify to most merchants, provided they aren’t seeking lots of advanced functionality on a shoestring budget.

But before you make the leap, I encourage you to take the admin for a test drive. Sign up for your free trial, call into customer support with any questions you have, and see what features you may need to add-on. You’ve got nothing to lose.

Get Started with Shopify

The post Getting Started With E-Commerce – Shopify Review appeared first on Starting a Business in Ireland | Help for Ireland's Entrepreneurs | Start Up Your Own Business.

When you think of running an ad campaign for your business, the ad networks that come to the mind are Google AdWords and Facebook. These are the two leading PPC ad networks.

Google AdWords takes 33% global digital ad revenue while Facebook only takes 5%. Both, Facebook and Google AdWords, have over four million advertisers.

If you are a startup owner who is planning to run an ad campaign, it is challenging to choose the right ad network. The following guide will show you which ad network is more suitable for your startup.

Major features of Facebook ads

1. Multiple types of ads

Facebook offers different types of ads to choose from such as post like ads, page like ads, lead ads, app download ads, website clicks, post engagement, and many others.

There is something for everyone at Facebook ads.

And the best part – they keep adding new ad types.

When Facebook ads was launched, there were limited ad types but since then, they have added several different types of ads for the advertisers. It is something that advertisers love.

The ad types are linked to the objective of the campaign. For instance, if you are interested in sending traffic to your landing page, you must choose Website Clicks ads while if you are interested in increasing page likes, go for a Page Likes campaign.

As a startup, you have a lot of variety in terms of ad types.

2. Better targeting

Facebook is a social network with massive reach. Users save all types of data on Facebook such as employment, location, places they visit, marital status, education, schools attended, interests, likes, dislikes, and much more. The list can go on and on.

This is what makes it an awesome ad network that allows granular targeting. You can target anyone in any part of the world with Facebook ads.

You can target audience based on their interests, pages they have liked, devices they use, demographics, schools attended, places visited, and more. The ability to select the most appropriate target audience for your audience is what makes Facebook better than all the other ad networks.

3. Best for visual ads

While most of the ad networks are text-based, Facebook is a visual platform. Since it is a social network where people share videos, images, and other forms of visual posts, therefore, it is highly unlikely that someone will run text-only ads there.

You cannot have text-only ads on Facebook.

It is best known for visual ads.

Visuals convert better than text. Images persuade people to act. Image are appealing. Above all, it is easier to convey the message in the form of an image compared to text.

Major features of Google AdWords

1. Biggest ad network

Google AdWords is the world’s leading ad network with massive global reach. The global net ad revenue in 2015 was well over $51.81 billion.

It has truly no competitor when it comes to PPC because Google is the most used search engine. It has 75% market share on desktop and 78% on mobile. Since it is the most used search engine, therefore, anything you put in the search results as ad will get all the exposure.

On the other hand, the display ad network is powered by Google’s publisher network, Google AdSense. Millions of websites and blogs use Google AdSense as their primary source of earning and this is where your ads are served.

Both the search and the display ads are equally effective – and together make Google AdWords the leading ad network in the town.

2. Large audience

Google handles more than 40K search queries every single second. This means it serves over 1.2 trillion searches a year and the number is increasing exponentially.

This massive audience provides advertisers with the opportunity to serve ads to all types of audience based on their search queries, interests, websites they visit, etc. Google maintains audience data primarily through its search engine and this is what helps advertisers in targeting the most appropriate audience for their ads.

3. Variety of ads

Just like Facebook, Google too offers a lot of different types of ads such as search, display, review ads, geolocation, shopping ads, and more. Google AdWords has different extensions for its advertisers that power your ads.

These ad extensions enhance your ads in several different ways. For instance, there is an ad extension that allows you to add a call button on ads on mobile so that your potential customers can call you from their phones. One problem with AdWords is the complexity, which leads companies to hire an AdWords Manager to run the advertising for them

Which is best for your startup?

Both.

It depends on your campaign objectives, your budget, product, and several other factors.

These two ad networks are completely different.

Facebook is a social network and is more suited to visual ads that appeal to a wider audience. It is best for promoting entertainment offers. This is because people are not in a buying mode when they are on Facebook.

They are there to socialize, not to buy something.

Someone who is chatting with a friend on Facebook will not be interested in your brand unless it is appealing.

On the other hand, Google AdWords is best for promoting pretty much anything. Someone who has typed where to buy iPhone 7 is interested in buying an iPhone. A relevant ad can do the trick.

You can, however, only use text ads with search ads. If your product is innovative or something that cannot be explained in words, you must use Facebook or Google’s display network. Unique and innovative products do well with Facebook ads.

You see there is no rule of thumb here.

You must evaluate both the ad networks and then see what your ad campaign’s objectives are. Everything must be considered before finalizing the ad network.

You must do a lot of testing. You might have to switch from Facebook ads to AdWords after several campaigns on Facebook for a few months.

The rule of the game is to test, analyze, and tweak.

You will eventually land on the ad network that’s best for your brand and product.

Eimear is the Marketing Manager at Power Meters, one of ten sites she is responsible for. Over the last year she has experimented with all advertising mediums and found Adwords the most suitable for their business.

The post Google AdWords or Facebook Ads: Which is best for a startup? appeared first on Starting a Business in Ireland | Help for Ireland's Entrepreneurs | Start Up Your Own Business.

What New Marketing Tools Can You Find on Facebook?

Facebook loves to keep evolving. Its ingenious strategies for development and relentless endeavour to introduce positive change make it the undisputed champion of the social media universe. Facebook makes sure that it looks out for its casual users as well as those who are interested to use the website as a marketing platform.

The developers are well aware of the website’s value as a launching pad for new businesses. This is why it is fair to assume that some of the latest Facebook features are intended to optimize the social media marketing strategies of promising new enterprises. Here are three of the new features that have become a global phenomenon so far:

a) Live: This is Facebook’s reply to Periscope. As the name clearly suggests, this option allows Facebook users including business pages to live stream videos directly to Facebook.

b) Reactions: Everybody was praying for a much needed “dislike” button when Facebook decided to offer them something far more useful. The reaction buttons are supplementary to the like button and allows users to react to a Facebook post through certain expressive emojis.

c) 360 Photos and Videos: Virtual reality is the next big technology that the world is patiently awaiting. Facebook has taken a step towards improving the existing VR technology by bringing it to the masses with 360 videos.

How Facebook Live Can Benefit Your Business

Here is an interesting piece of information to get you started. According to Social Media Examiner’s 2016 Social Media Marketing Industry Report, Facebook live is the hottest new trend for marketers around the world. The report states that 50% of marketers plan on using live video services of Facebook and Periscope. The other 50% are eager to learn more about the perks of using live video.

There is no denying the fact that the concept of going “live on social media” is unknown to a lot of marketers, especially those who prefer traditional marketing strategies. That being said, it is important for marketers to realize that the reach for a Facebook live post is significantly higher than an ordinary post. Facebook has made sure that your live videos are more likely to pop up in your audience’s News Feed courtesy of the exclusivity of the feature. Not many businesses have the appropriate content for a live video. Therefore, a business that can come up with a strategy to interact with the audience in real time is going to be favoured by Facebook over other businesses that are sending out conventional posts for boosting user engagement.

In addition to the higher reach, live Facebook sessions are invaluable when it comes to attracting a large audience and keeping them hooked to your message. Live contests, live giveaways, live tours, live product displays and live question and answer sessions are some of the few ways in which you can explore this new Facebook tool for marketing. The only drawback to using Facebook live for marketing purposes is that there are no retakes! You need to get it right at the first attempt, and even if you commit errors, you are likely to be excused by the amused live audience.

Reactions Help You Understand Your Customers Better

Start-ups that are successful have one incredibly important characteristic in common. They have all mastered the art of understanding consumer psychology within a very short period of time. Knowing how your customer feels about a particular product, service, promotion or package is essential to figuring out what works for your business and what does not.

Facebook Reactions make it easier than ever to assess the user’s state of mind. Did you post something that angered your customers? Are they liking the product or loving it? Do they find worthwhile humour in your content? Are they reacting in similar ways to your competitor’s posts? These are some of the areas that you can analyze.

In simple words, the black and white world of “liked posts” and “seen posts” have now been replaced by wide range of responses that new businesses can scrutinize to develop an accurate understanding of customer behaviour.

360 Photos and Videos are a Fantastic Bonus for Start-ups

On the surface, 360 photos and videos may not seem like an immensely helpful marketing tool. But what this new feature does really well is give new businesses an additional tactic of keeping users engaged and busy with their posts. As long as you are giving people something to talk about, you are doing a fine job of marketing your products and services.

You could also use 360 photos and videos to find out the kind of angles that the viewers prefer as Facebook is going to launch a new heat map feature in insights view of Page Insights and Video Library. This provides feedback on which parts of the 360 view are being most enjoyed by the audience.

Anna runs and owns Bronwyn Conroy Beauty School. Her training courses are perfect for Facebook promotion due to the visual aspect. This leads to a higher than average share throughout Facebook.

The post Using Facebook Tools to Market Your New Business appeared first on Starting a Business in Ireland | Help for Ireland's Entrepreneurs | Start Up Your Own Business.

Run Crawl First

Start Screaming Frog and enter only your domain name without the http or www. This checks that all 301 redirects are in place to the correct address for your website.

Before you start the app click configuration, API access, then Analytics. Follow the instructions on screen to allow the app to pull information from your Google Analytics account.

Click again configuration and give access to Google Search Console. Then start the app.

Visual Inspection

Too often reliance is given to SEO audit tools and a visual inspection of the website is missed. Just go to your website and flick through the site checking that pages are fully loading, images are not broken, and everything is as it should be.

Google Analytics Checks

My checks in Analytics are usually brief. Is the traffic steady and increasing, do the peaks tie in with newsletters or sharing on social media? A little used feature in Analytics is annotations. Simply click the down arrow just below the traffic graph and it will appear.

It is a great idea to add annotations when you are promoting via social media or a newsletter. I love stats and seeing if my efforts are producing results.

Then change the date range to the last seven days and compare with the previous period. I use seven days as I am checking the website every Monday morning. Once a month I check this month with last month and compare the statistics with the previous year. I am aiming for at least 30% year on year growth.

Important Stats to note for increases or decreases:

• Sessions – the number of visitors
• Pages per session and duration
• Bounce rate

It is worth noting that during holiday periods most business websites show a decrease in all metrics.

If there are large changes in any of these metrics it could warrant further investigation. If you have just published during the last week check that page. I have written posts thinking they are great, only to find that my visitors vote with their feet.

Click Acquisition on the left menu, then All Traffic, then Source Medium. I am looking for information on visitors from Google, Social Media website, and any referrals from links on another website that I have been unaware of.

Again, I am checking the same metrics as above and I am interested in keeping bounce rates low especially for Google traffic. I expect much higher bounce rates from Social Media websites.

When I see referral visitors from other websites I check what has been written about me and why they have linked to my site. To find the exact page that has referred the visitors, click on that domain, then Secondary dimension in the drop down menu just above the referral statics box. Click Acquisition, then Referral Path.

When I like what is written I take that URL and add it to my social media workflow. I will promote all pages that have links to my website in LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook over the next month. It is easy to quickly add to Buffer and let Buffer send to my social accounts a few times over the next month – but mix up the titles.

At that point I am finished with Analytics, as this is only a quick weekly SEO audit not a full overhaul.

Google Search Console Checks

Google provides a wealth of information in Search Console. These are the main areas to check:

Search Analytics

Compare the total clicks with Google search traffic in Analytics, if they are roughly the same all is fine – usually plus or minus 10% is okay, (they are never the same). Within Search Analytic I click on Clicks, Impressions, and CTR. I don’t bother with position as I run a rank checker for this information, and Google is slow in updating this information.

I want to see increases in all three metrics month on month, however I can live happily with a lower click through rate when the Total Impressions and Total Clicks are both increasing. Often I will see a large increase in Total Impressions before CTR and Clicks increase. This is simply down to keywords starting to rank at the bottom of the first page of Google.

If you are a bit anal, like me, you will download and store this data. I have had very few occasions where I needed to refer to older date from GSC. Google currently only makes available the last three months’ data.

Other Search Console Quick Checks

Are linking domains increasing? Promoting your website will result in increasing linking domains.

Is there a manual action? Scream. Think about a new website. Best start with talking to an SEO consultant.

Under Crawl, check crawl errors. Sort by date and check for recent not found, blocked resources, or server errors.

Check Security Issues. Often this is the first place that website owner become aware of their website being hacked.

This is only a quick thirty minutes SEO audit, but as you can see there is a lot of information available in Google Search Console.

Back to Scream Frog Crawl

Here is a list that I check immediately before diving into any statistic:

• Sort on status code, are there any 400 or 500 errors – fix
• Again, on status code, any 302 codes, if so why?
• Title tags – any duplicates?
• Response time, first time could be longer, but best if less than 2 seconds

If you haven’t been doing weekly audits the following may take a while initially.

Click on Analytics. Here I am looking for dead wood to either cut or rewrite. Sort on GA Sessions and find the pages that have empty cells. Why are these pages getting no visitors – sometimes there are valid reason like: term and conditions page, or disclosure page. But if it is a page where you would expect visitors investigate.

Click on Search Console, sort on impressions. If a page is not getting any impressions I immediately no index, follow the page – unless the page has only just been published. No Impression means Google for whatever reason hates that page. It is quicker to no index and stop it effecting the rest of your website.

List all the pages that have low or zero impressions and investigate. It will simply be quality of the content, whether that be length or keyword targeting.

In about the time it takes to read this post I can usually run through all the above. Do the SEO audit once a week and it will become second nature. But more important – you will intimately get to know what is working on what is not. That will drive you to greater online success.

Leslie runs Cube Online Marketing in Ireland and the Cube in the UK. He works with clients to increase their conversions, traffic, and profit through search engine optimisation.

The post A Weekly 30 Minute SEO Audit for Your Website appeared first on Starting a Business in Ireland | Help for Ireland's Entrepreneurs | Start Up Your Own Business.

Websimple is a new Irish website design business based in Dublin dedicated to providing high quality websites at super low prices! All Prices upfront and Transparent.

They develop & host responsive web sites, ecommerce & mobile app solutions starting at €299, they also offer free advice and articles on their website site. SEO & Digital marketing services also available.

You can earn referral fees of up to €39.95 also paid out for successfully proposed customers.

The post Announcing our new partnership with Websimple.ie appeared first on Starting a Business in Ireland | Help for Ireland's Entrepreneurs | Start Up Your Own Business.

Implementing the correct SEO strategies can be a daunting challenge for a new business, especially one that lacks expertise in the field. To make work easier, a new business should meticulously follow a standard SEO checklist for their website. Here are the most important elements of optimizing your new website for search engines:

1) Title Tag

The rule of the thumb is to keep the title tag restricted to 9 words or 65 characters. The idea is to display the most important information, including significant keywords, to the online user. These essential words must show up before the cut off in the SERP in Google that is approximately 600 pixels. This equates to somewhere around 65 characters including spaces. In other words, you need to be very specific in the way you get your message across. There is absolutely no room for fluff or words that serve no purpose.

2) Description Tag

This is not much different from the title tag. Only useful information goes into the description tag and the sentences must be filled with keywords to grab the attention of the audience. You have about 24 words or 156 characters including spaces to play with. Precision is the key here, but you cannot let that affect the overall quality of the writing. Search engines do not just look for keywords, they look for content that is actually worth the online user’s time.

3) Heading Tags

The purpose of the headings is to give the viewer a general idea about the main sections and points on a page. Think of it as a visual cue for the reader. In addition to making navigation easier for the visitor, the heading tags help search engines identify topics on a particular page.

4) Word Count and Content Quality

It is so easy to overestimate or underestimate the word count required for a particular web page. Some businesses want their new website to be a symbol of simplicity. Hence, they decide to minimize the word count as much as possible. Other businesses are more interested in feeding the visitors with as much content as they possibly can within the space available. Both of these strategies are extremities that are better left avoided.

The word count of a web page depends heavily on the topic, keyword competition and user intent. If you are not sure about the word count for a particular page, the best option is to find out the number of body words on the top ranking pages for a specific keyword that you are targeting. This gives you a general idea of what a decent word count would be in the eyes of the search engine. If it is an informational webpage on the new site of your business, then 800 to 1200 words is the range that you should aim for.

Remember, quality is more important than quantity when it comes to content. It is worth mentioning that the Google Panda Update penalizes website for low quality content. Hence, you should avoid posting repetitive or duplicate content and focus on showcasing your expertise on the subject you are addressing.

5) Call to Action (CTA)

A webpage without CTA is like a store that encourages people to window shop and leave. You want your visitors to interact with you in one way or the other so that it brings them a step closer towards making a purchase. At the end of the day, the ultimate goal of SEO is to bring in more revenue for your new business.

Every key page on the website has to make the visitor understand what kind of primary action they are expected to take. For instance, on a product page, it is essential for the CTA to “purchase”, “call” or “get a quote” to be as prominent and visually appealing as possible.

Remember, it is not necessary for a page to always promote transactional behaviour. For example, an informational page should be designed in such a way that the visitor is encouraged to explore your line of products and services for their personal research purposes. In other words, you should be looking to quench the visitor’s thirst for knowledge. This is how a new business can inspire consumer confidence and gain the trust of first time customers.

Local SEO

Technically not part of on-site SEO. However, the first part of local search optimisation should be completed right as your website is launched.

Many business owners falsely believe that local SEO is only for retail or businesses where customers walk in. Local though is for every business that has an address. For example if you search for CCTV Dublin you will notice this search box at the top of the search results.

Those three companies do not have addresses where customers walk in off the street. But by looking after their local SEO they are getting the lion share of the traffic due to the local search display.

The first thing to do with Local SEO is register your business with Google at Google My Business. Once you do that online, Google will send a verification card. Without this step it is unlikely that your business will ever appear in this local pack.

Niall runs two online store Midland Stone and Recycled Glass Ulster. He appears in local search for both websites and has great traffic due to implementing the above suggestions.

The post Small Business SEO Checklist for Your New Website appeared first on Starting a Business in Ireland | Help for Ireland's Entrepreneurs | Start Up Your Own Business.

Website Design Introduction

When setting out on any business venture you want to give yourself every chance of success. Whether you are a start up or an established business looking at new opportunities many things will go against you that you can’t control. The key to success is to at least do well the things you can. And that starts with your website.

Make no mistake it’s your Website

Make no mistake no matter what anyone tells you in 99% of cases your website is still your most important digital tool. I hear some people say Facebook pages are but this is complete rubbish. Your website is your shop window to the world and where people find you. It’s a fact that 80% of people now check a business’s website before doing business with them. So not having a good one is not an option.

Take Responsibility

The first step in building a website is take responsibility for it. Say to yourself it’s nobody’s fault but my own if it doesn’t end up well. This way you are accepting it could not go well while at the same time making the effort to make sure it does. And making the effort is doing your homework and planning.

Website Developers

The reality is many website developers are not marketers nor are they running your business for you. This is where the problem lies. Many times the business owner thinks the website is the developers problem and the web developer doesn’t care as long as the client signs off and writes the cheque. Also, the developer while being adept at building pages does not have the experience or knowhow to plan marketing and communication strategy which should be at the heart of web design.

So who’s to blame for bad web development?

Despite the fact I’ve asked business owners to take responsibility for getting their own functional website for me blame lies with the web developer or designer. They are the ones who make a living out of building websites for businesses and they should ensure they know how to do it properly and guide the client. As with any service we buy we have a certain amount of credence that the person doing the job has the required knowledge.

Web Sites are marketing and communication tools

Web developers have to see websites as digital marketing tools and not collages you have to put together with some words in the middle.  A website is a crucial business tool and needs to be facilitate the objectives of that business.

Here are some top tips to ask your web designers before they start designing your website.

1.   Website Objectives:  Have clear objectives been agreed as to what your business wants to achieve from the website? Your designer should go through this with you.

2.   Pre-Design Research: Has pre-design research been done to identify the content and structure needed to be search engine friendly. Have you looked at best industry practice at the way to deliver your service on line?

3. Digital Marketing Strategy: Before you start your website you should think about how you are going to market it after. This can have a huge effect on the features and structure of your site. This should always be agreed with your designer pre design so your website can execute your plans after. It is always preferable your designer understands the marketing environment as they can contribute and guide you through this crucial process.

4.   Website Content & Communication:  Have you been instructed on how to write and structure the content of your website by the design agency to achieve your objectives? At the center of this also is your communication strategy which is crucial to how people interact with your site. This should be clearly defined pre design and be consistent with your objectives.

5.   Search Engine Optimisation (SEO): While content and structure is key to SEO performance have you been informed of the ongoing process necessary to improve performance. This needs to be established pre design so the site is equipment to process a SEO strategy.

6.   Social Media Integration:  What role will social media play with your website and is your website set up to engage it effectively?

7.   Other Digital Platforms: Is the site being integrated with other digital platforms like email marketing or blogging in line with your digital strategy.

8.   Is the Website Mobile Friendly? More people are browsing the internet on mobile than desktop now. So can visitors navigate your site easily on a phone or tablet?

9.   Is your site Content Manageable?  Is it easy for you to edit content and add pages like blogs etc without having to contact the website designer every time. This allows your site to freely evolve to your customers needs and for you to feel more in control of your own website.

Follow this simple process and your chances of getting a great website have just increased greatly. If your developer is not cooperating with the process just get another as your obviously heading down the wrong road.

Author:

Alan Brogan BComm MBS

MD The Digital Department

www.thedigitaldepartment.ie

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In his book, “The Shallows: What The Internet Is Doing to Our Brains,” Nicholas Carr describes what we have long suspected–that our use of the Internet is creating neurological changes in the brain, affecting our ability to remember facts, or pay attention long enough to fully understand what we read.

Now, what was that again?

Though many disagree with Carr, the research he cites in his book has important implications for content creation.

Among the findings:

The more links there are in an article, the lower the comprehension of the reader. This may be because readers devote more of their attention to evaluating links and deciding whether to click them.
Readers of hypertext click through pages rather than reading them carefully. Worse, readers of hypertext could not remember what they had read or not read.
People watching a CNN news story retained far more information without the headlines scrolling at the bottom of the screen.
Users click instead of reading and finding answers. Study participants who searched for answers to questions in print did better than those searching for answers on Web pages.

Does your content distract and overtax your readers?

Are your messages too long and complex?

Can your visitors find the information they need quickly?

How do you engage users who are “clicking instead of concentrating”?

Keep in mind that less is often more on the Web.

Eliminate distracting site features such as flash animation or scrolling text.
Make copy easy to scan with subheads and bullets.
Use site navigation to break your information into shorter pages.
Make hyperlinks more descriptive. Don’t tell readers to “Read more”; tell them what they will read if they click.
Write website content in a conversational, less formal tone.
Get to the point in the first words. Don’t expect readers to read a long introductory paragraph.
Use adjectives, hyperbole, corporate-speak, and jargon sparingly.
Consider using video to communicate more complex information.

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“Whether it’s a real estate agent on the move who needs printed copies of contracts or an insurance agent who needs to print several forms quickly, printing without a PC has become more of a must-have than simply a premium,” says Tuan Tran, vice president of Hewlett-Packard’s imaging and printing group.

Touch Me
The trend that started with smartphones and tablets has leapt off the small screens: Now desktop computers, printers and more can be managed by a touch of the finger. And innovations in the technology have helped bring the price way down. Formerly enterprise-only solutions like touch-controlled office kiosks, interactive point-of-sale terminals and even sophisticated employee inventory systems are now within reach of the smallest small businesses. One worth a look? The ViewSonic VX2258 touch-controlled monitor (about $340) can be installed in a store or medical waiting room as a low-cost interactive kiosk.

The Uncomputer
Tech-savvy companies that need more desktop computers but don’t want to spend big for the firepower should consider a different breed of machine: zero-client PCs. These cheap, small units are, quite frankly, weaklings on the processing front–until you network them to a full-power computer nearby. Zero-clients have been big-company tools for some time, but recent price drops mean that a shop with just a few seats can zero out its PCs.

“Sectors where data security, IT productivity and endpoint reliability are critical are a very good fit for zero-client computing–specifically, health care, financial services, hospitality and retail, along with local government and education,” says James Buzzard, vice president for marketing at Pano Logic, a zero-client PC manufacturer in Redwood City, Calif.

Speed Up
Innovations in wireless communications come and go, but with service providers investing heavily in blazingly fast Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks, it looks like the technology will be around for some time. Though Verizon Wireless was once the sole LTE provider, now players from AT&T to Google-backed startup Clearwire are stepping into the arena–which means several choices will soon exist for accessing the web while on the go as quickly as you can in the office.

“The emergence of LTE speeds has revolutionized the mobile experience for small businesses,” says Walt Rivenbark, area vice president for mobility applications consulting at AT&T Mobility. “Salespeople will benefit by being able to collaborate remotely with their peers, easily review and share large files and help prevent service technicians from making a second trip.”

But you may not want to sign up for LTE immediately. The service has its problems: Coverage is still spotty, and there can be brutally expensive usage caps. But, sooner rather than later, the technology may be so robust that a single mobile data connection will work in the office and on the road, allowing businesses to drop their pricey internet service for a single cheap LTE deal.

Auto Zoom
Thanks to the likes of Ford, GM and Toyota, even small-business owners can stop thinking company cars and start thinking company fleet. Auto manufacturers have started offering low-cost business-oriented tracking tools and productivity features that mirror the logistics packages of big-time fleets.

“Factory-embedded productivity tools help fleet owners present data like where vehicles are, driver behavior and dispatch options. And they make that information accessible from any computer,” says Ed Pleet, product and business development manager for connected services at the Ford Motor Company. Ford’s Crew Chief vehicle management app starts at $425, plus $32 a month.

Just be careful: Though fleet management tools are helpful in figuring out which delivery guy can handle that last-minute pickup, improper utilization could make your staff feel like you’re spying on them.

Talking Point
No, don’t toss your keyboard quite yet. But do think of voice-control technology as an always-at-the-ready assistant that can help out when you’re driving, caring for patients or knee-deep in hands-on work. “Voice-recognition tools also can be effective in workplaces with document-intensive work flows,” says Vlad Sejnoha, chief technology officer at Burlington, Mass.-based Nuance Communications, which offers the Dragon Go! voice-recognition search app. “For example, the federal government has mandated the use of electronic medical record systems to capture and share patient information. But they tend to be hard to use, template-oriented and a good option for voice recognition.”

But be prepared to put some time into practicing with the technology before you unleash it on your business. Those misdials that get served up by your car’s Bluetooth? You don’t want the same thing happening with sensitive business docs or in client communications.

Author, Author
Plenty of people will feel itchy at the thought (the editors at Entrepreneur among them), but there are machines out there that can write. Not just type or print, but actually turn bits of data into full sentences.

Durham, N.C.’s Automated Insights has put its writing program to work to create more than 400 websites, 700 Twitter feeds and 400 mobile apps. The 13-person firm creates every single grammatically correct word of this network by machine, and founder and CEO Robbie Allen believes automated authoring has a home in almost any business. “We originally started out focused on data-intensive content like sports,” he says. “But now we realize we can use the technology in anything from financial services to health care.”

Gumby Screens
Imagine a PC screen that can bend around a column or along the curves of a car’s interior. Consumer-targeted tools like bendable iPads are still years away, but moderately flexible screens, such as those from Norcross, Ga.-based NanoLumens, are already available. The company’s NanoFlex products can conform to curved surfaces in retail spaces, lobbies, transportation hubs or hospitality venues.

“It’s all about more screens,” says Nick Colaneri, director of Arizona State University’s Flexible Display Center in Tempe. “Everywhere you look: at work, sides of cars–anywhere.”

The post 8 Tech Trends Defining the Future of Small Business appeared first on Starting a Business in Ireland | Help for Ireland's Entrepreneurs | Start Up Your Own Business.

2. May I have a list of your current and past clients? Candidates should readily provide contact information for existing and past clients, says Chris Turzo, managing director of Goodwyn, Powell & Turzo, an executive recruiting firm that specializes in IT and clean technology. “Directly speaking with people a candidate has worked for is an essential step in the hiring process because it helps you establish how reliable and results-driven” he or she is. Many contract webmasters work independently on their own time schedules, he adds, so ask if they work well without a lot of structure and still deliver desired results on time.

3. What’s your favorite website and why do you like it? The answer can reveal a lot about a webmaster’s sense of branding, design, user interaction and more, Turzo says.

4. Which publishing, design and content technologies would you use to build and maintain my website? Webmasters should be able to describe the major publishing, design and content scheduling tools, give the pros and cons of each, and explain which they would suggest for you based on your budget and scope of work. “For instance, if they incorporate a blog within your website, would they use WordPress or Drupal, or would they code one from scratch?” says Malcolm Ong, co-founder and chief technical officer at Skillshare, an online education community based in New York City, and a mentor at 500 Startups, a Mountain View, Calif. internet seed fund and startup accelerator. “If you’re not tech-savvy, you may not fully understand all of the technologies he or she proposes, but they should at least be able to present you with clear options that you can generally understand.”

5. How will you optimize my website for search engines? Lisa Lopuck, author of Web Design for Dummies (Wiley, 3rd edition, 2012), suggests asking candidates how knowledgeable they are about SEO tools and techniques. “Ask them to explain which strategies and methods they’ll use to boost your rankings in all of the major search engines,” she says. They should also be experienced with Google Analytics to track website traffic and user behavior statistics and gauge the effectiveness of their SEO campaigns.

6. What kind of special features can you integrate into my site? A static website simply won’t do. Customers have come to expect extras features like video, social media feeds and banner ads. Be sure the candidate has the skills and resources to provide them. Can they easily add a contact form, blog, Flash animation, and Facebook and Twitter feeds to your site? If so, what is the expected delivery time for each special feature?

7. What is your approach to security issues and other potential website problems? It’s essential to know how your webmaster would respond should your site crash or get hacked — and how quickly. Find out how often they would back up the site and all of its content and how they would protect your site against phishing, data theft and malicious file execution.

Other security-related questions: If your website will require users to log in, how will the personal data be verified and protected? If the webmaster creates a shopping cart for you, how will your customers be protected against identity and credit card information theft?

8. How well versed are you in copyright issues? It’s critical for webmasters to be up-to-date on web-related copyright concerns. They will likely be charged with copyrighting all of the text, images and other media on your website. Asking them where they’ll obtain the photos and graphics they’ll use on your site could help you avert potential legal woes. For example, will they use free Creative Commons attribution licensed images or paid commercial stock photo licensed images?

9. Who will own the website? You might think that you would automatically own a site you paid someone to design for you. But if the designer is an independent contractor and not a company employee, you won’t own the site without a “work made for hire” or a “copyright assignment” agreement specifically stating that you own the complete design and all the content.

10. What are your fees and payment terms? It’s crucial to establish from the outset all of the fees for designing, publishing and maintaining your website. You’ll also want to know if the webmaster prefers to be paid by the hour or on a monthly retainer. If the webmaster is designing a new site for you, find out whether you’ll have to pay for hosting and domain name registration charges.

Other important payment questions: Are there overtime charges for working after regular business hours and on weekends or holidays? How often are invoice payments due — every 30, 60 or 90 days? And is there an interest fee for late payments?

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