Design-KIT

Sustainable Design

admin — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:52:36 +0000

Improving profits while benefitting the environment
Putting sustainability at the core of design thinking is at the heart of this European funded service. Sustainable Design is based around a programme of workshops and free one-to-one Design Associate support but focuses on identifying where sustainable design, materials and processes can be used to reduce costs and increase sales whilst also benefitting the environment.

A series of free introductory workshops are taking place across the region this autumn, see page four for details. If you think one of your clients could benefit from any South East Design programme, or youd simply would like to know more,
call Jackie Walker on 01590 626524 or email jackie.walker@businesslinksoutheast.co.uk

Want to get noticed by Google? Here are some ways to do it.

admin — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 13:47:06 +0000

When a search engines bot trawls the Internet, it is looking for certain information that it can feed into its cleverly formulated algorithms that determine a sites ranking. Search engines look for a technically well-structured site, fresh content and relevant in-bound links so you need to provide this information for them in the correct form.

The structure of the site is down to the ability of your website developer so choose carefully and make sure that he/she really understands this area. Many sites we see look great graphically, but are virtually invisible to the search engines as the developer either did know or didnt care about building in that essential textual information that the search engines need to be able gather from websites to create a ranking.

Fresh content is in your hands. Write fresh copy on a regular basis, this can be either daily, weekly or monthly, but the more often fresh relevant content is posted, the more frequently the search engine will visit your site and so help your site to achieve a higher ranking.

However, the received wisdom at present is that the most important information that search engines are looking for is in-bound links to your site they take the view that if no one else wants to know about your site then why should they? It is felt that Google bases 80% of its rankings on the number, relevance and quality of in-bound links that it finds pointing to any particular site.

Heres what to do to create those all important in-bound links.

Look for relevant sites that you could link to and preferably they should have a higher Google Page ranking than your site so they will help to lift your own ranking. Search the web for appropriate directories, user interest groups and blogs and after having understood the protocols for each site, start posting appropriate contributions or registering your own site. Ensure that your web address is on your posting in accordance with the forum or blogs site requirements. Make the posting valid and in keeping with the theme of the thread otherwise the sites moderator may remove your contribution. Social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Blogger for example, are now valid business tools in the quest for inbound links, so use them for posting appropriate content and also for creating your own presence within those communities. Interestingly, latest statistics confirm that Google visits Ecademy, a business networking site, every eleven seconds so setting up your own profile on this and other similar sites, could be beneficial to your sites positioning on the search engine ladder to success. Posting articles on Pressbox and Wordpress are another way getting your URL virally spread around the Internet.

For more relevant daily updated information on this subject, go to:

www.searchenginewatch.com and www.bruceclay.com

or Google a phrase such as search engine optimisation and start reading and doing.

Eric Friend

Business Link Adviser E-business

E-Commerce expected to grow

admin — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 09:24:27 +0000

As consumers and businesses in the South East look to find ways to save costs and source cheaper products, more and more of them are turning to the web.

The Times has reported online sales could grow to account for almost 15 per cent of the overall retail sector by 2012, rising from 20 billion today to 50 billion.

Pricewaterhouse Coopers who conducted the report identified several issues that are also contributing to this growth. Standards and useability of sites have improved - making the customer far more likely to transact, sites that include clear images and video do better - as customers can see exactly what they are getting and how it is used.

Forecasts predict that the Christmas period this year will be a busy time for online retailers, and from feedback at recent seminars run by Business Link in the South East a number of businesses are gearing up ready to take advantage. If ecommerce is something you are considering there are a number of resources to help.

http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/layer?topicId=1073866263 - An impartial guide from Business Link covering how to plan for ecommerce, advice around setting up an online shop.

http://www.ecommerce-comparison.com/ - Business Link sponsored site that uses a wizard to help you choose which ecommerce software is most appropriate for your business.

http://www.electronic-payments.co.uk/ - similar to above but covers payment processors to help you determine the most cost effective way to take online payments.