Opnes Website Solutions

Dont forget to Flickr

2011-05-24T01:08:00.000-07:00

One of the great things about Flickr is that not only is it owned by Yahoo, but you can also use the site to create backlinks and other seo functions just by uploading your images.

First things first - when you have created your account, you will have the option to create a unique name for the accounts url. Make sure you use something that is related back to your company - I have heard some users put in their website address as the unique name...not sure if this makes any difference to be honest, so best to keep it simple.

When you upload your photos there are Four things which can really help your SEO.

Tag it correctly
Each photo can have tags or keywords associated to it. Use keywords that are associated with the photo and your business.

The tags work with spaces in between so using Sussex based web Designers will give the keyphrases sussex, based, web, designers - great for keywords but no for keyphrases. To use the keyphrases uses as "sussex based web designers" "horsham web designers" and so on.

Use HTML in your description
Flickr allows html coding in the description for each photo. Ok so not everyone knows much about HTML, but the only real code you need to know is how to link back to your website / webpage

For example

A great photo of our offices at Opnes Website Solutions

Would be

Simply replace the web address for yours and replace Opnes Website Solutions with your company name

Set it out
Create sets for your photos - a bit like a mini gallery. Again these can have a description associated to them and ideal for managing your photos.

Map it
You can now link photos to specific locations on the maps. Using a suitable description and tags will ensure your image comes up when users are using maps online

All sounds good....but is this for everyone?

Well yes and it just take a little imagination as to what you can use it for - so for example

Bootcamps / Fitness - uploading images of training / classes
Web Designers - uploading portfolios
Entertainers - uploading images from their latest event
Builders - uploading different building projects
Business Coaches - uploading images from their latest confierence / seminar

and so on....have fun and go Flickr

Breaking the 7 Second Rule

2011-05-17T08:22:00.000-07:00

When a visitor comes to your site you have 7 seconds in which to get them to do something eg call, signup to a newsletter, enquire about a product, etc.

Apparently this time is reduced to 4 seconds if the visitor is a female and Im refuse to be drawn into a discussion on why this is :D

In short, your site has to break at least the 7 second rule to grab a potential client and any visitor to your site will ask themselves two simple questions during that time:

"Do you have the product / service I require?" and "Do you have the product and service I require at the price Im willing to pay?" - get these two questions answered and your halfway there.

Your next task is to make it as easy as possible for a client to contact you - some visitors are comfortable with say a phone call, others a contact/enquiry form - either way you need to make sure you cover all the possible bases:

1 - make your phone number visiable and obvious on all your pages. If someone calls you from seeing you website they are saying they are more than happy to talk to you, you just need to make the final sale...or as we say a 'Hot Lead'.

2 - ensure you have a contact / enquiry form...not everyone is willing to pick up the phone so a form is the easiest way for a client to say im happy to talk to you but placing the ball in your court and you will have to contact me....or as we say a 'Warm Lead'.

3. Use other forms of contact - email links, call back systems, Skype and online support chat will all help.

4. Return calls within 5-10mins max of any contact

So what to avoid on the site?

- Flash intros...nice to look at but lets face it after 7 seconds everyone is bored
- slow sites....make sure images are not too big. Between 100kb-200kb should be ok
- messy and cluttered sites...keep copy to no more than 150 words
- difficult navigation....keep menus clear and use call to action banners.

For more information on this our any of our services at Opnes Website Solutions, please visit http://www.opnes.com/

Re-building a website - 7 SEO considerations

2011-05-17T07:45:00.000-07:00

When rebuilding a website there are a number of basic SEO considerations that you need to make during the build. This will help the website maintain its current rankings within sites such as Google:

1) Keep all meta titles and descriptions in-tact as much as possible. Add to if need be, but make sure the exsiting information remains

2) Keep as much of the copy intact as possible. Most designers will reduce or miss copy out from the old site which might make the site look nicer but will affect the sites rankings. Typically try and keep copy to less than 150 words per page.

3) Make sure any links within the copy remain or if they are pointing to an old page no longer required, then point it to the new page created, but keep the link name the same

4) Any wording in bold then make sure this is also kept intact along with any H1 H2, H3 tags

5) Try and keep the same file structure of the site along with the page names and extensions eg Contact.htm should be the same on the new design. If you are using different extensions of relative URLs then keep the same format eg www.asite.com/contact-us.htm would be www.asite.com/contact-us.php or www.asite.com/contact-us

6) If the page names / extensions are changing then use 301 redirects on the site to point them to their new named page extension

7) If the page no longer exists (due to changes on the design or) or no longer has a relevant page then redirect these to a 404 page or use 301 rediect to the home page.

For more information please visit http://www.opnes.com/

Division with DIVs

2010-08-25T02:08:00.000-07:00

It still amazes me how many people are told by scrupulous Marketing and Web companies that if their site is not "W3C compliant" or that their site is not built using DIVs (divisions) that the site would not be indexed correctly by Google or optimised for the search engines.

So, with the help of Google themselves and some of the top SEO companies in the world, I would like to put this to bed once and for all.

DIVs vs Table
There has been a clear divide (sorry) within the web world over which is the best to use. The short answer is both are fine. Tables have always been used since the start of the World Wide Wed, with DIV coding coming later. Some sites work better in DIVs others in table and both are spiderable by the search engines.

A recent article by an SEO expert which went through the "8 Myths of SEO" had this to say about tables and divisions:

"This one makes me want to scream. HTML tables have been easily spiderable by search engines since the search engines were newly hatched. As far as I know, table code has never been anything that choked the search engines. I think this myth was propagated by website developers who advocate tableless designs to make you think you’ll somehow get better rankings out of their designs. You won’t."

Interesting that this made number 3 in the top 8! The main key for any website is to ensure that it is using clean semantic coding so that it can easily be spidered.

I have seen many sites that use either tables OR divisions that are not clean code and have issues with being indexed.

W3C Compliant
Firstly what is it - well the official definition is "W3C was created to ensure compatibility and agreement among industry members in the adoption of new standards. Prior to its creation, incompatible versions of HTML were offered by different vendors, increasing the potential for inconsistency between web pages. The consortium was created to get all those vendors to agree on a set of core principles and components which would be supported by everyone."

Great, but will a site that is W3C compliant be ranked better than a site that is not? Answer is no - and that answer comes from Google themselves!

For more reading on this I would suggest looking at this interesting article on W3C http://yoast.com/w3c-validation-seo/

At the end of the article is a video by Matt Cutts who is a Software engineer for Google who not only says there's no bonus for validating, but why.

I said at the start of this blog about scrupulous Marketing and Web companies talking about DIVs and W3C. These companies will band about phrases and techinical jargon to make it look like they know what they are doing in order to get your business........so becareful please.

Give anyone time, its easy to pick holes in a website and Im sure if I had a spare 5mins I can totally trash the BBCs website design and coding; But I wont and the real question you should be asking yourself is "Does my website do what I want it too?

So Finally - want 3 top tips to help get your site ranked?

1 - Content - make changes to your site with new and relevant content on a regular baisis
2 - Linking - get links with relevant companies and organisations. This will not only help your SEO but will also drive traffice to your site
3 - Social media - checkout and use these free services such as blogs, twitter, linkedin and even facebook to drive traffic to your site.

And if you really need help - then please call us and we can recommend and good honest SEO company that will give you impartial advise. They have done work for us and our clients, with their results being outstanding.

Making it easier for your customers to make contact

2010-08-20T09:01:00.000-07:00

In one of our signup ezines, we outlined how a website should be setup to make it easier for customers to contact you as easily as possible, and in way that they feel comfortable

I outlined how the different ways relate to their sales potential, in the sameway that lead generation in business networking groups show how "hot" a lead can be, so for example:

Contact Number - customer calls you from the website is a hot lead. They are interested in your services and may have a few questions, but the sale is almost complete.

Contact Form - Customer is interested in your services and is a warm lead. They are placing the ball in your court to contact them to complete the sale.

Its a fact that over 90% of visitors will complete a contact form rather than call, so ask yourself this question..."If you dont have a contact form on your site, how much potential business are you now loosing?"

Opnes Click2Call is another solution which helps your visitors contact you directly from your website using forms and contecting you to your visitors at a time that suits them!

The system currently being used by major call centres such as RBS, British Gas and Barclays, allows the client to complete a simple online form on your website and then you, as the website owner, gets connected to the visitor via a phone call, at the time the visitor specifies.
This video provisioned by British Gas in the past few weeks, backed by TV and Radio advertising, demonstrates that businesses are now committed to delivering a great customer experience using call-back services -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgM8mdu86ds

How to Integrate Linkedin into your Outlook

2010-02-18T10:37:00.000-08:00

To use the feature, users can follow these steps:

1.Download the latest version of the Outlook Social Connector from Microsoft (Outlook 2003, 2007, or 2010 is required)

2.Once that is installed, download the LinkedIn Outlook Connector

3.Restart your Outlook and follow the instructions to connect your LinkedIn account to Outlook

LinkedIn for Outlook is still in beta, and may require some tweaks before it's perfect, but LinkedIn is actively encouraging feedback, so users can voice their concerns easily.

Not only do moves like this reinforce how important social media has become to business, but they also reinforce the staying power of email. There has been a great deal of discussion in the past about how social media could kill email, but to the contrary, we're seeing more and more moves by social networks to become more integrated with the email channel. For email marketers, this is great news.

Image and Video Gallery Options

2010-02-06T07:47:00.000-08:00

This week saw the latest funcationlity on Opnes with the launch of a image and video gallery page for websites.

Users can simply upload images or link to videos from sites such as YouTube to create image galleries and video galleries on their site.

The system uses a light box application simular to those found on popular sites such as Facebook, giving a professional look and feel to the users site.

Images are uploaded and image titles and descriptions can be added giving visitors a user friendly front end to the galleries.

Users can flick between photos / videos easily enough or just click on a thumbnail for larger viewing.

Most websites offer photo galleries but very few offer photos galleries AND video galleries as standard to their clients.

For more informaiton about Opnes and the latest feature available, please checkout the website at www.opnes.com

Send clients your details from your website via SMS

2010-01-08T02:20:00.000-08:00

We have launched a new function on Opnes that allows website owners to send their company details directly from their website to any client mobile phone

The visitor simply clicks on a icon / link within the site (located on the home and / or contact page) and they are requested to enter in their mobile number.

Once they have submitted this, the website owners details are sent via SMS directly to that users mobile phone.

The site owner has control over what information is sent from:

Company Name
Telephone number
Website Address

The recipient can then save this information on their mobile for future reference as required.

This is a great add on for companies such as locksmiths, takeaways, taxi firms, etc where clients need to have contact information to hand, quickly!

Increase website traffic with Opnes Social Media

2010-01-05T08:38:00.000-08:00

If you’re not already using Social Media Marketing to connect with customers and generate traffic to your site you’ll soon be dropping down Google’s rankings and potentially losing business.

The future of marketing is Social and Google’s new Caffeine update puts even more emphasis on blogs and social networks - if your competitors are using Social Media effectively and you’re not, they are going to leave you behind!

At Opnes we have launched a new service for our clients - for only £100pm we will create and manage your social networking media.

By using the likes of Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc, we wont just engage with your customers but also help to build your brand and increase sales

For more information on this and other great services from Opnes, please call us today on Freephone 0800 977 5341.

Opnes Head Office Xmas Opening times

2009-12-01T08:15:00.000-08:00

Please be aware that the main office number of Opnes will be operational during the following hours over xmas:

Christmas Eve - 8am - 1pm

Christmas Day - Closed

Boxing Day - Closed

Monday 28th December - Closed ( In lieu of Boxing Day)

Tuesday 29th December - Open as normal, 8am - 6pm

Wednesday 30th December - Open as normal, 8am - 6pm

New Years Eve - 8am - 1pm

New Years Day - Closed

Saturday 2nd January - Open as normal 9am - 4pm

Monday 4th January - Open as normal.

During the closed times and out of hours there will be support via the ticket helpdesk at www.opnes.com/support

Please note that the office is now open on Saturdays between 9am and 1pm

Opnes Roadshow at Milton Keynes

2009-11-30T07:06:00.000-08:00

After the recent success and response from the Milton Keynes Franchise show held on 14th November, the Opnes team will be running a Franchise roadshow back at Milton Keynes.

This will be you opportunity to find out:

How the Opnes franchise works & why it works
Why it is different from other franchise models
To see the Opnes system in action.

This is a free event with two sessions planned on Saturday 16th January 2010 (venue tbc).

If you are interested in coming along to one of the sessions and having the opportunity to ask questions and speak with the team in more detail about the business opportunities with Opnes, then please send an email to roadshow@opnes.com stating your interest and preffered session time.

If you would like to speak with one of the team members before the show then please call us on 0800 977 5341

How to get direct contact from your website to your visitors mobile.

2009-11-28T01:57:00.000-08:00

This week sees the launch of the latest Opnes module giving Opnes website clients the ability to pass on their details at a click of a button, to their visitors mobile phones.

Visitors will now see an option to have the website owners details (which are defined by the site owner) to be sent directly via the Opnes SMS system to their mobile phone as a text message.

Website owners can specify their Company name, contact number and web address directly to their site visitors mobile, which can then be saved as a future reference for times when these details are needed quickly or when the visitor is not able to get access to the web to find that paticular clients contact information
Example applications could be for taxi firms, locksmiths, fast food outlets in fact any company that wants to get their details out to their potential clients.

The site also harvests the mobile number, to allow the site owner to send out direct marketing to the mobile phone on future products and / or services from that site.

Direct marketing from your site is an important marketing tool which many SMEs and even website companies currently over-look for their end user. SMS plays this role perfectly and is an easy add on / integration for those looking to grab this un-tapped solution within their business today.

Opnes Integrates SMS for greater Marketing Power

2009-10-17T14:39:00.000-07:00

Last month saw the launch of an integrated SMS texting platform into Opnes sites giving greater and (more importantly) direct marketing for Opnes site owners.

Visitors to an Opnes site can now have the option to receive free updates from that site about their products, services, news or events directly to the users mobile phone. This in turn generates returning traffic for visitors interested in that website owners offerings.

By simply accepting the option in the sites contact form to receive the information, the website then harvests the mobile numbers to a phone book within the site owners admin area. The owner can then easily send out text messages directly from their admin area, direct to the visitors mobile phone.

The SMS system is also being integrated into the take away system, which texts the visitor buying the take away online with details of the order and the shops number for future reference (as shown in a video on the Opnes Feature Focus- click here to view it). This in turn gives the restaurant the opportunity to market directly to customers who have purchase from their store in the past.

Unlike most SMS gateways, text credits purchased through the Opnes gateway are not subject to ageing rules and the credits can be used as and when needed.

Opnes is always striving to ensure that we have the latest technology and systems to ensure our customers benefit from the latest internet marketing solutions. By integrating in the SMS systems we have yet again ensured that we are further ahead of any website CMS currently available.

One Opnes client uses the system to generate increased trade to his restaurant during the quieter times of the week, by offering limited deals valid for a particular night only. Since using the SMS platform within his Opnes website, he has seen an increase of nearly 60% additional traffic during these normal quieter times.

For more information or to get a free account please visit http://www.opnes.com/ and click on the SMS link within the menu.

Twitter Integrated into Opnes.

2009-07-22T08:37:00.000-07:00

Twitter updates can now be added to your Opnes account through the admin section. This is a great way to use it as a Latest News feed (when integrated with sites such as blogger.com and tweetfeeds) or as general updates and feedback for your clients.

Because it can now be located on your Opnes website, it means that your sites content can be updated with new information giving in turn something for Google to be very happy about.

Implementation.

Once you have logged into your Opnes site account click on the Manager Twitter link
Enter in your twitter username
Enter in the Heading i.e. Latest News, Twitter Updates or whatever you like.

Enter in the number of Tweets: - the number of tweets you would like to appear on your site at anyone time e.g. 3 will show the three latest tweets you have made.

Once done tick the pages you would like the feeds to appear on and click Save.

You can change and amend the Twitter Manage section as and when you like

Show your Face to Potential clients.

2009-07-11T06:19:00.000-07:00

When talking to new and potential clients, I always tell them just how powerful video emailing is from both a marketing point and getting your message across whilst standing out from the crowd.

This is always an opportunity for me to tell two stories from my own personal experience on just how powerful video emailing has become in the last two years.

The first centered around a referal I received to a new potential client. After the initial phone conversation and agreement to meet up the following day, I sent this person a video email as a further way to introduce myself and to confirm the meeting.
When I arrived at my meeting the following day, the first thing the client asked was how on earth I did the video email (they recognised the immediate marketing potential behind it straight away).

I said that we could discuss this after I had given my final presentation on what we would be able to offer them as their web designer. Their reply being - "You've got the contract, now just show us how you do these video emails".

The Second story happened whilst I was attending the BNI conference in Kula Lumpa.
I Had decided on the second day to get every delgates business card and send out a mass video email inroducing myself and giving them the opportunity to speak with me during the course of the week. This in itself created two key moments of the week.

The first was, I felt, the most strange. I decided to take a couple of hours out of the conference and pop in to the local shopping mall. Whilst I was walking around I had complete strangers coming up to me, calling my name and chatting with me - Why I asked? (being totally confused and never meeting these people before). "Because your that guy off the video emailing on the internet - we've got your message".
When I checked back to my room later that day - I found that the email had been forwarded to nearly 1000 people in less than 24 hours.

The second incident occured during a conversation with another BNI representative. As we were talking, another representative came up and said hi, advised that he got my email and will call me next week to discuss some potential business.

When I turned to my the guy I was originally speaking with, he said "I dont know what you did or how you did it, but I have been trying to get a meeting with that guy for nearly 6 months - you've done it in less that two days.....how?"

Regardless of your thoughts or feelings on video emailing, the truth of the matter is that it's here today and not being utilised to its full potential. Like SMS texting, these is something that will grow and become a normal part of every day life.

If you would like to know more then please feel free to contact us anytime

The Power of Micro Sites

2009-07-09T11:43:00.000-07:00

What is a Micro Site?
Well in short a micro site is a small website of one or two pages only which is specific to your business or organisation. The micro site might be used to advertise or push a paticular product or service. It might even be slightly different in look and feel to your main site to test marketing in different geographical areas for example.

But wait a second, is that not what landing pages are?

In short, No. Landing pages are pages that are created within your existing website. Normally hidden, they are are created for either a) as reference pages or b) transactional pages usually from Google Adword campaigns - both of which are excellent for Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), and in the case of transactional pages, a good way to to see how different markets react to different offers and promotions.

The main draw back is that they are restricted to the owners website and although long term will develop SEO is lacking the main power of micro sites.

So what exactly does a micro site bring that landing pages don't?

As with landing pages, you can use them to market test your product or service for different sectors, areas and so on. Even changing the colours and images slightly to see how they affect your visitors retention periods.

Where micro sites start to come in to their own is simply that you can add domain names that are specific to search terms that users maybe using in sites such as Google.

So for example if you are running a store that sells the famouse Widgets and you are based in say Sussex, then a domain name for your first Micro site would be http://www.widgetsellersinsussex.com/ picking up the search phrases Widgets, Sellers and Sussex.

Because the likely hood of the search terms are in your domain name, this increases your chances of getting to the top of Google that much quicker once you site has been indexed.

The trick then is to create more micro sites for different areas using slightly different domain names.

Couple this with the ability to change each site for its relevant geographical area, Micro sites start to become a very powerful tool and do not need to be expensive to produce or even run.

Of course you can always purchase these domain names and point them directly to landing pages on your site, but at least with Micro sites, you have a good platform to continue and add in more pages and even micro stores as certain micro sites do better than others.

Opnes has had varying success with Micro sites, but all in all the early days are showing that micro sites have a place on the internet and are here to stay.