SEO and why you need it

The search engine is by far the most effective tool for finding information on the Internet. (Does anyone remember life before Google?). When you are the bearer of the information, that means a search engine is the most effective tool you have for getting your information found. The art of tweaking a website so that it is "findable" by search engines is known as Search Engine Optimisation, or SEO. Effective SEO has resulted in large increases in website visitors for every single client we've worked with. And by "large" we mean "sometimes over one thousand percent".

SEO is a broad task covering website layout, text content and copywriting, technical server management, and partner relationships. Many small businesses don't have the time or technical knowledge to do these things and run the risk of losing important business. Search-engine visibility (how "findable" you are to search engines like Google and Yahoo!) is only going to increase in importance as businesses and users move away from old media such as White and Yellow Pages towards online listings.

Don't be stung by "cowboys" (or pushy salesmen from directory companies) who promise you the earth in exchange for only three or four payments of, oh, several thousand dollars each. There are a number of things that any small business can do to improve the search-engine visibility of its website, and we're more than happy to help. Call us today for a chat!

--Simon

Start on your Christmas function

At Chilli Chocolate Marketing we're all about relationships. About letting your clients know you love them. And when it comes to showing the love, the most important event on any company's calendar is the Client Christmas Function. It's where you say thanks; where you show off to your clients what great clients you have; and where you provide an environment for business networking. And Christmas is just around the corner. No, seriously. It is.

If you can only afford to host one client function a year, make it a Christmas Function - but you need to get in early. Like, now. If you leave it too much longer you will find that your preferred venues or days are already booked out, leaving you with alternatives that may not convey the "thanks" to your customers appropriately. You do not want your business to be the one left standing when all venues and entertainment are booked out in December.

Christmas functions do not need to be extravagant; it's your attention to detail that guests remember. Things such as:

• the timing and style of the invitations
• the quality of the food
• the wine selection (always important in South Australia!)
• the thoughtfulness of any gifts
• attention to decorations and overall ambiance

If this all sounds like too much, give us a call - we can help.

Be master of your domain

In the course of our daily activities we see a lot of email addresses. And we are continually surprised at the number of people still using ISP-provided addresses (like "alice@bigpond.com") or free webmail addresses (like "bob@hotmail.com" or "carol@yahoo.com.au") for business communications. Your email is for promoting your business, not Bigpond or Hotmail or Yahoo!

Relying on an ISP or webmail address for your business can be bad for a number of other reasons.

Free webmail addresses are well-known sources of unsolicited commercial email - spam - often containing computer viruses. as a result, many reputable businesses filter or block email originating from sources such as hotmail and yahoo. if you’re using an address like that for your business communications, your email may not be getting through to your intended recipient - and you’ll never know it.

If you're relying on an ISP-provided email address for your company, ask yourself this: what happens if that ISP changes its name or is sold? What happens to your email?

Small businesses often fall victim to these problems because noone on staff is technically savvy enough to acquire a unique "domain name", or they think the process is difficult or costly. It's not as hard or expensive as you may think - give us a call today to discuss your requirements.

--Simon