How to fail at selling things

My laptop is getting a bit ancient but still works so I’m loath to replace it. But the battery is knackered so I decided last week to search for a new one.  It appears that almost nobody really wants to sell me one.

Posted in November 2011

Make my day and call me

The telephone is still a very effective form of communication. There is an awful lot you can do online but if you have question a then a quick call can be far more effective. So just suppose you have a potential customer what is almost ready to buy but just wants to check delivery or [...]

Posted in October 2011

Website testing

There are all sorts of website that will run SEO, accessibility and other tests on your website. But none of them actual report back what people really think about your site. One service I’ve been using for a while is the fivescondtest from usabilityhub. There are two ways to get the tests: Pay for them. [...]

Posted in July 2011

Xerox Real Business – a website that truly sucks

A short post this one because all that needs to be said is embraced by a truly awful website. One would have hoped that a large multinational company would know better. But they don’t. So three cheers for the xerox real business website (if you can be bother for the thing to load). If you [...]

Posted in July 2011

Ways to ignore the EU cookie directive

Many regulations appear from the Europe without a murmur of discontent but one that has caused all sorts of consternation is 2009/136/EC. For no logical reason, the directive requires you ask every single visitor to your website if you can send a cookie. It’s supposed to be a privacy issue but in reality it’s just [...]

Posted in June 2011

Beware the adwords cowboys

In addition to the SEO link building scam there is the Adwords scam. I have no problem in calling it a scam because that’s what it is. They are taking money on false pretences and delivering a wholly unsuitable product. An adwords sccount is free. If you follow the many tutorials and articles you can [...]

Posted in August 2009

How to avoid the SEO link building scam

Link building isn’t easy. It takes time and effort to research and create the links that will make a difference to your ranking. And it’s not the number of links that matter, it’s the quality of those links. Much better to have one link from a respected site than 1000 inbounds from spammy free-for-all directories. [...]

Posted in August 2009

Tell us where you are if you want to be found

There’s this amazing new restaurant, it’s  local, has  good prices, atmosphere and excellent food. The only problem is the marketing. They advertise in Australia when the business is in England. And the cook lives in Peru . You may snort with derision and say that nobody is that stupid but this is exactly what people [...]

Posted in August 2009

Entice me to click, don’t leave it to chance

When you visit a website there’s really only two things you can do: absorb the content or click on links. If you own you own website you really want your visitors to do both. Getting then to absorb your content just needs some good copywriting but getting them to click on your links is another [...]

Posted in May 2009

Integrating a payment portal onto any website

I’ve sort of shyed away from ecommerce, mainly because I haven’t yet found a application I really like and because I’m completely pants at programming. But a solution has risen like a phoenix from the ashes and I am saved (hallelujah). Secure online payments integrated into any website for the measly sum of £30.00 per [...]

Posted in May 2009

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