Back To Basics
Okay, so first up is a little gem.

What is your average customer WORTH?
You don’t know?  That’s not surprising, a lot of business owners don’t.
It’s easy to work out -
o   Total the number of Clients you have in a given perid
o   Minus your expenses from your total invoiced
o   Divide the result by your Clients
o   Now you know what you can spend on marketing for your customers

Driving Traffic to your site SEO
o   Backlinks – why are they still great?  Because it’s evidence that someone else thinks your site is worthy of linking to, end of story.
o   Directories – if you thought Directories were old-hat, think again.  There are some quality Directories out there specific to most business niches.  Yes, there are a lot of low-quality directories also, but the same can be said for any type of website online.
o   Social Media – the entire planet has gone Social Crazy, but for some businesses, it really works.  If your clients hang out there, target it.  If they don’t there are still plenty of options.

The right page
o   Make sure your visitors are landing on the right page!  Don’t have links for a ‘red widget’ pointing to your contact page…I know that one’s a no-brainer, but it still happens.

Call to Action
o   Don’t expect them to pick up the phone
o   Unless you actually tell them the number
o   And make it easy for them

Track your new enquiries
o   Where do they come from?
o   How did they find you?

Knowing where your customers came from, and how much they are worth is invaluable in many ways.  If you’re shelling out for advertising, but not getting any return on that investment, you need to know.

Don’t worry, this is not going to be over-the-top technical, or just for the eyes of geeks.

(See our other tips here.)

Overview – Why is The Google ‘Panda’ Update Still Affecting Our Websites?

The long and short of the ‘Google Panda’ update and how it affects you is this – it is no longer just enough to have ‘useful’, or ‘relevant’, or ‘unique’ content for your website.

The Panda update goes a lot further than Google have gone before when it comes to how they rate your website (and ultimately your business) within the online search space.

You or your web/seo guys may have noticed your ranking stats jumping about a bit since around March – that’s when Google started rolling out Panda. And it ties in to what I’ve been telling our clients about recently.

Now – this is the crucial bit to keep in mind – Panda is not going to go away, or fade out. It’s an on-going, evolving change to the way Google rates your website.

Google cares a lot about the quality of search results presented to guys like you and me when we search for stuff on the web.

Why? Because Google’s income / revenue stream – totalling hundreds of millions of dollars – depends on Advertising. If the search results pages start looking spammy, or full of junk – searchers go and use an alternative like Bing or Yahoo. And Google loses money. Simple.

So How Does Google Panda Impact You?

The key here is now based around usability for your website visitors. Ask yourself these questions:

- Does my site look like it was built in 1980?

- Would I want my mother/brother/father/sister/friends to visit my site?

- Is my website chock-full of Ads?

- Is there unique content on the site that engages people searching for my product/service?

- Am I re-using the same content on different pages?

- If I visited my site, looking for my service, would I buy?

- Do my website stats tell me people are leaving my website as soon as they find it?

- How many pages does the average visitor view before leaving my site?

- How long does the average visitor stay on my site for?

If the answers to the above aren’t good – then you may have some work to do if you want to maintain or improve your position on the web.  And you’ll notice that all of these factors are ‘visitor-focussed’.

How Does Google Know?

Google already have several ways to monitor the above metrics automagically. But the key thing is how they designed Panda in the first place.

This is all based on Human review – yep, real live ones. Hundreds of guys, visiting thousands of websites, and rating them by actually visiting you. You or I may have been visited by a Google employee in the process – but that’s irrelevant – because they’ve now trained their computers to behave in the same way as the Human Reviewers. That’s what enabled Google to roll the Panda update out to every site on the web. Clever stuff.

What Do I Need To Do?

Forget SEO as it used to be. Panda changes all that substantially. Going forward, Google is all about usability for your visitors – and yes, one way of measuring that is ‘Social Proof’ – see my previous post where I mention Google+1 for an example of this.  If you’re not doing it already – start looking at your site as your visitors would, not as you ‘think’ the search engines would.

In last month’s Tips, we showed you Google +1, Dropbox and 1Password.  Some amazing benefits to small business owners in that lot. I might even get the T-shirts.

This month we give you some super-simple, quick & easy tips that are often overlooked on the keyboard that could easily save you hours of aggravation every single month!  When I say super-simple – that’s exactly what I mean.

(See our other tips here.)

#1 – Make the Most of Your Monitor

You are probably like me.  I’ll bet that sometimes you wish you had another monitor, or a bigger monitor, so you can have as many of your programs as possible visible at the same time.  Well, there’s a killer keyboard shortcut to maximise the ‘real estate’ on your screen.  Try it in your favourite web browser (this works in Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Chrome)

Keyboard Shortcut: press ‘F11′ on your keyboard

This removes all the junk you don’t use when reading a web page – the address bar at the top of the screen etc.

Simply press ‘F11′ on your keboard again to get all the usual screen-hogging menus, navigation buttons etc back again.

#2 – Too Many Programs Running?

Fed up with clicking through the different windows on your desktop, trying to find the program you’re looking for?  This one is a breeze, and anyone with 2 or more fingers at their disposal can do it:

Keyboard Shortcut: Hold the ‘Alt’ key (left of your spacebar) with your thumb.  Use your middle or index finger to click the ‘Tab’ key.  This works in Windows, Mac (‘Option’ + ‘Tab’) or Ubuntu Linux.

You’ll be able to cycle through your open programs with ease

(Bonus Tip: if you have windows 7 with Aero enabled – try your Windows key + Tab together….ooohhhh!  Tell me what you see!)

#3 – Eyes Tired?  Text Too Small?

Again, this works in most modern web browsers, including Internet Explorer, Firefox and Chrome.

Dead simple – hold the ‘Ctrl’ key on your keboard.  Hit the ‘+’ or ‘-’ keys on your keypad to increase or decrease the size of Text in the browser.

(Bonus Tip: to ‘reset’ to the original size – hit ‘Ctrl’ and ’0′ (that’s zero, not the letter)

#4 – Need to Find Something FAST?

Whether it’s a program, or a file, this works in Windows:

Hit your Windows Key (left of keyboard)

Type the name, or part of the name of the program or file you need, you’ll see a quick list of matching programs / files.

Click the one you need  (or if you’re a keyboard junkie like me, and hate having to use the mouse – use the up & down arrows and hit Enter)

Hey Presto.  Boom, you’re in.

(This works best if you have ‘Indexing’ turned on)

#5 – Some Well-Known Keyboard Shortcuts

This is a quick list of some of the more common shortcuts that will save you hours of your life in boring, mundane ‘office productivity’ over a year:-

These work in most programs:

• Ctrl + S = Save
• Ctrl + Shift + S = Save As
• Ctrl + P = Print
• Ctrl + O = Open (file or folder)

From Outlook Email Client:

• Ctrl + N = New Email
• Alt + S = Send Email
• Ctrl + Q = Mark as Read
• Ctrl + U = Mark as Unread

Have your own quick tips that save time on the boring stuff at work and allow you to get on with the stuff you enjoy?  Share them with us in the comments.

Well, that about wraps it up for this installment, see you in the next episode!

Here are 3 tips that any business owner can benefit from without throwing their PC (or Mac) through the window:

(See our other tips here.)

#1 – Google +1 is here!

If you haven’t heard of it already, then you have now.  If you’re not sure what it is, then a simple explanation is to think of the ‘Facebook Like’ buttons you see on many sites at the moment.

Now the importance of this is – it’s Google.  We all know how important those chaps are when it comes to the web, search, and running your business.

When Google does something, it usually has a massive global and local impact, so if you only have 1 ‘share this’ or ‘like’ button on your website, make sure it’s Google + 1.

Simple enough for your web guys to setup, so won’t break your website budget.

#2 – Dropbox

This is amazing.  Free storage up to 2Gb.

Want all your important documents or images to be available to you on whatever machine you work from?  Dropbox it.

Need to share important documents with your clients and don’t want to constantly email changes back and forth?  Dropbox it.

You save something to your Dropbox folder, which then almost instantly becomes available in the same folder on your other machines (or also available to anyone else you share it with).

Simple to set up.  Free.  Download, install, away you go – all your Word, Excel, image files, whatever you want available to you wherever you are.

You can even login to the website from anywhere in the world to access your files should you need.

Link to Dropbox site.

#3 – 1Password Vs Firefox 4 Password Manager.

Got multiple passwords you can never remember?

1Password wins hands down.  Many more options and the ability to integrate also with Internet Explorer (boo, hiss!).  1Password pops a handy little icon in both FF & IE, but most of the time you don’t need the icon – it just recognises the login pages that you have saved – and can even auto-fill for you.

Forgotten a login, or can’t quite remember the web address you need to login to?  Just hit the icon, and search for part of the name of the website, or the address.  It’s truly a great bit of kit.

Also features a great ‘Password Generator’ which generates really strong passwords – and obviously you don’t ever need to remember them, and so don’t have to use the same ‘easy to remember’ password you’ve always used before.

*** Use 1Password with Dropbox (see above) and you can have your passwords available to you on every machine you work on – home, office, anywhere.

Well, that about wraps it up for this installment, see you in the next episode!

Sprite Me makes it super simple to sprite up images with a little Bookmark tool.

Excellent for sites that don’t already have their images sprited.

There are various services they offer to their clients. One is web design. This service aims to provide you with websites that will suit your needs—to develop a website that will boost your brand and will help you achieve your business objectives. 123 Webdesign will help you get the best results through their packages consisting of starter websites and e-commerce websites. Another service they provide is Search Engine Optimization or SEO. Through this service, your website, particularly your business, will be put at the top of search results so that your customers will see your brand right away. With this service, ROI is guaranteed and all you have to do is to avail of the opportunity!

A third service they can provide for your business is Content Management Systems. Content management is crucial for your business website and 123 Webdesign will make sure that your website is updated with content that will bring in customers. 123 Webdesign also provides e-commerce services. They can give you three easy options so that your products can reach all the corners of Bournemouth and the rest of the world any time of the day whenever customers demand it. Their e-commerce services will definitely make a statement for your brand.

123 Webdesign has worked with Eboss recruitment Software, Intabase Solutions, The Bournemouth Plumber, Graham Davies Management Project, The Park Partnership, Edeli Shop, Shawn Randall Art, Total Glaze, RT Knight Opticians, Halcyon Holiday Cottages, Halcyon Property Development and Just Add Gifts among others who are now more than satisfied with 123 Webdesign’s services. Their businesses have now grown bigger and they have high praises for the company that made things possible for them.

If you are looking for a new website for your business or if you simply want to upgrade you existing website, contact 123 Webdesign now and let them transform your business into a better income generating giant. 123 Webdesign sees the potential in you and your business and its presence on the web. They understand you and your business objectives so give them a try!

Although flash web design may be appealing to both web designers and users, it may not be so with search engines. An entirely flash-based design is full of animation, big and bold images, video and so many other graphics that make it hard for search engines to recognize when ranking web pages. A graphic-filled design may also make navigation difficult for visitors who have only a few seconds to spare. Serious visitors who are looking for specific information may be distracted and even annoyed with flashy features that they may be forced to just click away to other sites for the information they need.

Flash design, when used prudently and sparingly, is a great multimedia enhancement to a website. But when used to excess in building an entire website, it may pose a risk or even a disaster to a website because search engines are more friendly to HTML and CSS.

There were comments on the design’s aesthetic value, with many lauding it and some vilifying it. Whether it’s aesthetically valuable or not, let’s leave that to the connoisseurs.

I am more concerned with how conveniently I can get the information I am looking for in a website. Personally, in the examples I’ve seen, I immediately grasped the purpose of the websites. I could then sense how easy it would be to navigate without any unnecessary clutter distracting me. No pop-ups, no twirling objects, no dizzying patterns to make me lose my focus.

Of course, anything beautiful is great. But in any web design, minimalistic ones included, my idea of beauty is how usable, functional, convenient and informative the website is.

#1 Firefox

#2 Chrome

#3 Internet Explorer

Chrome has about a 13% lead on IE according to these stats.  Heh-heh!

Anyone else seeing a similar pattern recently?  Would love to hear from you if you are showing something different, whatever market you’re in!

Here are 3 tips that any business owner can achieve without throwing their PC (or Mac) through the window:  they run from super-easy at #1, to more advanced by #3.

(See our other tips here.)

#1 – Go-Go Google Local!
Often overlooked, Google Local is a great place to get your business listed, with many search results now showing local results at the very top.

To get your site on Google Local, and Google Maps – go to http://local.google.co.uk/.  Click on ‘Put your business on Google Maps‘

Enter your Google Account details (signing up is free if you don’t have it – it’s worth the 2 minutes to fill in the form)

Fill in your recovery email address and/or mobile number

Click ‘Add new business’ and give as much detail as possible.

Done.

#2 – Validation Validation Validation
An easy one for you to check yourself – does your site have errors?  This can often put you at a disadvantage to your competitors.  Here’s how to check in under 30 seconds.

Go to your website.  Copy the address out of the address bar.

Then, go to http://validator.w3.org/ – Put your address in the Validate by Uri ‘Address’ field.

Click the Check button.

The W3C are pretty much the world authority on valid code in websites.

If you have Errors or Warnings, contact your designer and let them know.

Sometimes they are not important, but sometimes can really harm your Search Results.

#3 – First Link Importance
This is super-important for any of us with Logos at the top of our pages, which most of us do.  This tip is a little more advanced for those of you that want something more meaty!

We all know Google loves text, and how important that text is for our search engine results – here’s how to check that the very first link on your page is text – and why it’s so crucial.

To explain this as simply as possible – if Google finds 2 links pointing to the same page, it will use the first link it finds.  If the first link it finds is your logo – then Google doesn’t use any valuable text for that link. Google loves text, and images just don’t compare when it comes to linking.

Here’s how to check your site. (skip to the bottom if you’d prefer to see the video link)

1. Using the Firefox web browser, if you don’t have it already, install the Web Developer plugin.  Restart Firefox.
2. Now go to your website in Firefox.
3. On your menu bar at top, go to your Tools > Web Developer > Disable > Disable Javascript > Disable all javascript.  Click it.
4. Then go to Tools > Web Developer > CSS > Disable Styles > All Styles.
5. Now go to Tools > Web Developer > Miscellaneous > Linearize Page

(Don’t forget to re-enable 3, 4 & 5 above in your Tools menu when you’re finished.)

Now, you see your site pretty much as Google sees it.

If the first thing you see at the top of the page is a logo, then it’s worth speaking to your Web guys about.

If you want to check it out in more detail, see the video here

Well, that about wraps it up for this installment, see you in the next episode!

Web design flaws that impair usability do exist in many websites even with the tons of web design tools available. If users get stuck or are lost in a website, they abandon the website. If the homepage does not clearly express what the website is all about, they jump to other websites. If a website is difficult to navigate, they leave the website.

Usability is the capacity of the web design to make it easy for visitors to use the website. It allows users to go from one page to the other, jump from the first page to the last or go back and forth without difficulty. Usability is the first experience of the user with the business. This experience must, therefore, be as satisfactory and delightful as possible for the user by avoiding the following common web design flaws:

Complicated Search Tools and Processes.

Users want to navigate with some independence. Too complicated search processes easily tire them, so they usually go directly to the homepage search function. Search tools such as search boxes and links should be simple but visible. The search box should be situated conveniently at the right-hand corner of the top of the page and should have a search input field wide enough so that parts of the query are not hidden because of scrolling. Search boxes are good for complex interior pages while links are for simple interior pages.

Unchangeable Font Size

Many websites have fixed font sizes that don’t allow for resizing. For aesthetics, some web designs contain varied font sizes including small ones. This is a problem especially for senior and not too senior users and those with visual impairment. Small and thin fonts diminish readability and drive users away. The web design should allow for resizing of text using layman’s instructions instead of highly technical terms like pixels.

Cluttered Pages

Hoping to catch attention, some web designers include features like animation and moving objects such as scrolling, fireworks, twirling graphics, flashing banners or pop-up windows. Add some blasting music to that and you have, not only clutter, but chaos. Too many of these features disrupt smooth navigation that only lead users to the back arrow.

PDF Files That Require Online Reading

Users don’t want to be interrupted with additional procedures like the opening of PDF files. Moreover, not all computers are updated and not all browsers are the same.

In creating your web design, user experience is the most important thing to bear in mind. Every user wants to use the web in the easiest way possible. Thus, web designing is not about what you, the website owner, want, but what the user wants.

One thing that caught my interest in the Oxford definition, though, is an addendum, which clarified that when used with a modifier like a computer geek, computer geek would mean a knowledgeable and obsessive enthusiast. Surprisingly, The American Heritage gives the following slang terms as synonyms of enthusiast: freak, junkie, nut, groupie, bug, head and fiend, some of which are popular with geek, nerd, hippie or other similar groups.

In my own analysis, a geek, when used with a modifier could mean an odd, ridiculous, unfashionable or socially inept but knowledgeable and self-driven person. This definition has both positive and negative connotations, which can be confusing and may even be irreconcilable to the main stream or more conventional groups. Just like anything else on this planet, words as a component of language have their own origins and evolutions. This means that the original meanings of words can change with time because they also adopt to the circumstances in which they are used. They have to undergo their own evolution so that they do not become extinct.

In the past, nerds, freaks and hippies were frowned at and they were confined to their own groups. With the emergence of the computer industry in the 1990s, the geeks became known as they manned the computers, indicating an exemplary level of their prowess and passion. Computers were not user friendly then and not just anybody could operate them. Human beings, geeks included, have needs. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs includes the physiological needs and the motivational needs, the latter being the higher needs. I can see that the geeks, with their mastery of computers, have a need for recognition for the milestone they have done for technology. They also have to satisfy their need for esteem and self-actualization to erase the negative role their predecessors have been known for in the past. The present day geeks deserve this and there is nothing wrong with it as long as they don’t kill and rob other people, and respect their rights.

If we are to go by the definition of Oxford, anybody with an expertise can be a geek like a math geek, or an astronomy geek, or a religious geek, or a music geek, or a health geek, or a carpentry geek, and the list could go on. What is this fuss then about contradicting perceptions of geeks? Are they good or are they bad for society? Who knows, being a geek may even be just a fad.

The geek culture is a relatively young movement and it is too early to make a categorical stand at this point. It is said that experience is the best teacher. Maybe, just maybe, we all have a little bit of Geek trying to burst out….

Ah.  Not so quick.  Just went to download for Windows 7 x64.  Downloaded.  Ran the install.

“Internet Explorer 9 – Downloading required updates…”

“Internet Explorer needs an update before installing……go online and install the required update, then return to the Internet Explorer installation page and run setup again.”

Hmm.

I click the ‘Get Update’ button.  The usual, helpful (?) Microsoft page full of stuff I don’t want to know, with the Windows 7 update buried somewhere down the page.

I click the ‘Download the x64 package now’ link.

“We can’t find that page

Make sure the web address is correct, or try using a different link to get to the page you want.”

Thank you so much Microsoft.

Seamless, end to end, joined up thinking….

Back to FF.

Login as Admin, go System > Configuration

Top left you see ‘Current Configuration Scope’ – choose ‘Main Website’ assuming you have a default installation.

Then scroll down on the left till you see ‘Developer’ – hit that.

Then open the panel in the content area that says ‘Debug’ and set Template Path Hints to ‘yes’ (Block Names also if you want them)

Save and done.

Credit to Magento Community guy stevewar for the video here

That (unfortunately) stopped working today.  So I downloaded the 7 beta – this is reported to have much more ‘unobtrusive’ scanning of projects.

Still, my advice, is to install it after work, then let it run overnight….took hours to finish scanning upon first boot – froze up many times, and required Netbeans and javaw.exe to be killed off with Task Manager.

She’s also a bit of a memory-hogger – currently reporting 17% on my CPU’s (AMD Phenom II X6 1055T) and 777Mb Ram.  Maybe that’s just Symfony projects in Netbeans for you.

Makes Windows 7 look like Mother Theresa, and even Vista like a woman-of-not-so-much-ill-repute…

Measure It – useful if you want to quickly check widths to tweak your css without retyping / guess-timating 3 times……

FoxGuide – handy rulers ala Photoshop.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/dom-inspector-6622/

If you’re messing around with web apps / php / apache / mysql / ajax (frameworks like Symfony / CodeIgniter / Kohana – you get the picture), this is sweet.  The DOM tree seems to be a bit easier to use / cleaner than Firebug’s Dom tab (counter-opinions on a postcard to BBC, Pebble Mill, W1 please).

And I like it.

xNeat seems to not be compatible with Windows 7 x64 at the time of writing, and after trying to run xNeat in compatibility mode for Vista SP2 / as administrator, we gave Ditto a run.

Works nicely with text in Notepad, copying db / mysql info in and out of IDE’s such as Netbeans.

Easy keyboard shortcut to pop open your clipboard menu – Ctrl ‘

This was pretty straightforward in the end for my Windows 7 x64 machine.

First, download and install Cygwin.  Windows command prompt just won’t do it.

Then go to http://adoxa.110mb.com/index.html and download ANSICON (I used ANSICON 1.32).

Save and extract to C:\ drive, then open command prompt, go to \x64, and type the following:

C:\x64>ansicon.exe -i

Now when you open Cygwin and run tests with or without the –color option, you get your colour output.

Handy little (free again) tool called flux that adjusts the colour balance of your screen for day and night work automatically – sets up your location for you by typing in your country.  Very few options, but very few needed.

And if you need to perform colour-sensitive work you can turn it off for an hour, or disable it.

Our widescreen TV’s, credit cards, and field of vision are some of the manifestations of this ratio that we all know too well.  Come to think of it, I’d bet the last half bottle of Asahi I’m drinking now, that the smile of a beautiful woman on a glorious summer’s day, also conforms to this ratio.  My wife’s smile, of course.

We don’t need to work it out for ourselves, we get the math done for us with this cool golden ratio tool.

Well, this free little clipboard manager from xNeat allows you to copy multiple items, then paste from the list.

Dead handy if you need to copy database names/usernames/passwords and probably a zillion other day to day uses too.

**Note – if you’re using Windows 7 x64, I’ve had problems with xNeat – you could try Ditto Clipboard Manager instead – that’s working for me on my 7 x64 box.

Simply select the option ‘bookmark post at del.icio.us using same tags, enter your login details, bingo.