Time to update your Copyright date

Now is the time to plan changing all your copyright dates from 2009 to 2010. Create the 7 types of sitemaps, and upload. This is very important, as the search engines use this information to verify page changes. You should update sitemaps at least once a week.

If you need help, please make contact.
Drachsi

BT Tradespace has problems on migration

I have a number of sites on BT Tradespace and on 20th November, BT started migrating over to their new system. As of today all of my information, images are "Lost" I have reported the problem and will update with information when a reply is received.

I would suggest not starting a website until the problems have been resolved.

BT Tradespace. Not certain how long it will take

November 8th. With more than 200,000 websites to migrate to the new version, this will take time. Naturally like anything new, there will be small problems, but it would seem the new version has incorporated most of the wishes of the existing customers. I will post an up-date when possible.

Drachsi

Looks like BT Tradespace is up grading this week-end to the new version

Finally the upgrade seems to be happening. At the moment you cannot access your Tradespace area, but soon, maybe on Monday the new version will be ready. It seems there are many exciting new facilities and additions. I will try to update my Tradespace Lens on Squidoo as soon as possible.

Drachsi

Have you every wondered about email addresses?

I checked my email address book recently and found that the majority of companies used the style info@somecompanyname.com  For spammers it is easy. Take any company address, add the info@ and it is almost certain to be delivered, support@ is almost as bad.


Selecting a more appropriate name will reduce the unwanted emails, and ensure you have time to answer real customers.

Drachsi

A resource for individuals and companies

It is important to have as many opportunities as possible to promote yourself and your company. Here is a great resource which is indexed by the major search engines and is complimentary to your other on-line links. You may have heard of Linkedin but this is the link. Great for publishing your skills and helps in finding employment. You can link to your website and Blog. Recommended.

Have you heard about Brownbook?

I read an item on Tradespace about a free directory that "Anyone can edit" The address is Brownbook There are already more than 27 million members. This looks like a great idea for spreading your message and building quality links.

I report back as things progress.

Drachsi

Communities, the new way to provide customer support

Just a quick update to inform you that the Community Lens on Squidoo has been published. Owning your own Community, which provides help, support for visitors and customers is a great way to provide customer service. Need help?, please send an email with details. The link is Communities

When did you last check your website?

Today, I wanted to post to DIGG, but they use an image to verify I am human, but the image would not load. Their "report a bug" also has an image that would not load. So I could not post a great link or report a problem.

Do you have somebody checking out your links and website as a typical user? Visitors and customers only give you 20 seconds to interest them or they leave. All that effort, it only takes one small error to lose your visitors and customers.

Some great websites but why don't they use a favicon?

I save many great sites to favorites, and to the desk top, but many websites don't use a favicon, so every thing has the same image. Create and use a favicon and make your website stand out from the crowd.

Drachsi

Just added a great, free SEO tool to the list

There are many free and paid for tools to find out how your website is seen by search engines and how you are rated in the indexes. I have added new resource to the "Internet Support List" in the menu bar, where you will find a growing selection of top quality links, tools and solutions.

Rated one of the best tools you can use in realtime.

Drachsi

Tradespace on Squidoo updated

I have updated my Tradespace Lens on Squidoo. When you have created your own Tradespace site, you can add a free link to your url. The address is Tradespace There is information and ideas for newbies.

Drachsi

Sending and Receiving Emails

If you need to send or receive emails from anywhere in the world, on any computer, there is a solution. All you need is your email address and password. Remember to delete the history file in the Browser if you are using a public computer. The link is Mail2Web.

Create a free community for your company website

I have just started a free online community, which provides a great method of proving customer support at low cost. If Microsoft and British Telecom used it, it could be good for you as well. My community is here.

Adding a Bookmark button is a good idea

It is a good idea to add a Bookmark button to you Blogs and Web pages. Here is my version which is free.





Get you own free version


Drachsi







New Squidoo Lens about BT Tradespace

I have created a new Lens about the business portal BT Tradespace If you want to create your very own business profile, this is the place to do it, and it's free.

I joined Tradespace, but it is early days yet

A free site to promote your company or business is at Tradespace, part of BT, a British Teleco. Anybody can join for free, you can see my listing Tradespace here. Get in with your name now, before the best names are gone, there are already more than 200,000 listed, worldwide.

Drachsi

Having a "favicon" is important

Many companies have still not understood that having a "favicon" associated with their web url is important. You know, if you save a link, how easy it is to find, if it has it's own icon. 5 minutes of work is all it takes, but great for the user.

Here is the definition from Wikipedia and here is a quick method how to make them FavIcon

Drachsi

Another super resource to tell you about

Normally, when you find a great resource, you keep the information to yourself, as it gives you a strategic advantage. Not my way. Here is a great company that provides Hosting Services, Domain Registration and a great deal more. I use them for private websites, and for my customers. Great customer support, and if you are on a minimum budget, you can use a holding page. Here is my example. Drachsi

Creating and using a unique name can be harmful

Posting on Blogs and in Forums is very common, you can use this if you are company to promote product and services. If you are an individual, you should be aware that your name and it's postings are index by the major search engines, and can still be available years later.

Employment companies now do searches of user names to find more about you, interests, hobbies, politics. It has a good and a bad side.

Joining Forums, and the name you should use.

Joining Forums related to your business or interests is a good idea, but plan ahead when selecting your Forum name.

Try to use your business name or a keyword. If you type the name into Google, it will list all postings and links where you have used this name, a great link building solution.

Maybe a better way to search?

There are so many solutions to searching for information, most people stay with their favourite. Sometimes there is an idea which is worth considering. This solution takes normal searching to a new level as it combines voting by the people, for the people. Check it out here. Worth looking into, it is free.

New Virtual Office resource added

You can find a link in the menu bar (Internet Support List) to a great, free online resource using "Cloud Computing" This is a virtual office which you manage and can be accessed from any browser in the world. (Naturally with Login and password control). Great if you are travelling, storing info., etc. You get 15Gb for free, worth joining, My selected resource of 2009.

A description of a "Virtual Flyer"

Wikipedia has an excellent description of the word Flyer, and most people know what it means. So the virtual Flyer has all the same benefits plus some extra ones. An online Flyer is cheaper to produce, can be distributed worldwide for zero cost and contains important links to additional information.

To help you get the most from your next Flyer, I have created a help Flyer at Virtual Flyers

New Forums added

I am now a member of a number of UK Forums. Some are easier to use than others. All offer the chance to post messagees, but promotion work varies. What is normal on all Forums, is that you have to post a number of times before you can add a link to other information. (This is a good method as Google is able to follow such links).

The idea is to prevent the serious spammer. We all want to get our message out and have to find a way of working within the rules. To see the latest information added to the free resources Blog, see the Internet Support List in the Menu.

Using Forums to learn and promote

One of the great ways to "Talk up" your business is to join suitable Forums in your specific area of interest. Not a lot of benefits in joining a Forum which is US focused if you are based in Scotland.

Searching for Forums on Google is easy, typing in "uk business forum" finds 98 million, but the first few pages have enough. Most Forums have restrictions on your early posts and often you have to make 10 to 15 posts, which are sensible before you can post a url link. This is to prevent spammers flooding the Forum with links.

I have joined a number of UK Forums and will report on progress. The best Forums will be listed in the *Internet Support List" in the menu bar. This is a second Blog I maintain, which has information and links to useful information. The links are provided free of cost.

Regards

Pete

.eu Special Offer web address

For many companies, another website means more expense and time, maybe I can help. Only a registered address in Europe is allowed to register an .eu web address, so you need somebody in Europe to do it for you, if you are outside of this area.

A European website is great for feeding back into your existing website and or shows that you are really international. Please use the Contact form to send details.

Adding icons in front of a link

When creating lists, I always think it is nice to show a descriptive icon before the link. I know you can do this using images, but this technique uses css. See how it looks from the "Internet Markerting List" in the menu bar.

My Lens is number 1 in Page Rankings

A search on Google for "creating lenses" which is one of my many Lenses on Squidoo produced the result number 1 from over 4 million. This is the goal of all websites, Bloggers and Squidoo'ers for their creations. Creating Squidoo Lenses make a lot of sense, and should be part of your on-line efforts.

Just imagine if I did this for you. All the knowledge, know-how, commitment and time I have, to make your Internet resources work for you.

40 years of marketing, with 12 years in the Internet sector is available.

Use the contact form to send details of your requirements

Squidoo Lens updated

The Squidoo Lens I created about the "Bank of Industry" has just been
updated. No selling just an opportunity to promote a banking idea and let you
discuss the issues. A Blog is a great method to update all links simultaneously.
The address is Bank of Industry Please visit and see what is possible with Squidoo.

Time, have you noticed, nobody has time anymore

Remember when you were young? the long days, waiting for something to happen took ages. Now as we are older, there is not enough time in the day. If you manage a company, there is even less time available, as staff cut-backs mean there are even more things to do.



If you need some help, it's time to contact me. Maintaining your webpages, updating sitemaps and running a Blog are all things that should be done every week, and then there is creating new stuff. Why not see if my broad international marketing and Internet skills can help you.

New Squidoo Lenses created

I have just published a new Squidoo Lenses about One to One Marketing. The
address is One2One


If you have never heard of Squidoo, there is information available and a simple
step by step guide to get you going. If you need help, please use the contact
form.

Regards

Pete

The benefit of an outsider checking your website.

This is a true story and ongoing at the moment.

There is a very well known airline with an extensive range of customer features, but still it has a major customer problem.

A service was requested, which required payment by credit card. The airline uses an outside company to process the payment, but when the form is completed, a message is displayed "card not accepted". A couple of long phone calls produced the response, it's not the Airline, but the Card Processor. Contacting the Card Processor produced the reply, "Not us" it's the Airline.

I tried 3 times and on checking with my card company, they have 3 payments outstanding, and provided the authorization code. Back to the Airline, not us it's the card company. This is still on-going.

If there is a customer problem, everybody passes it on to somebody else. There is no-way anybody accepts the problem is theirs.

The website should have been evaluated by an outsider, as a potential customer, and there should be a process internally, that flags any technical problem a customer has.

The customer should never, never, have to try solve a problem with the website.

Have you had your website checked from the outside? if not maybe you should contact me.

Pete

Have you heard about Bing? (Not Crosby)

Bing is the new search engine from Microsoft. For Web masters it is important that you register and add the Meta code to your website. This makes it more certain that your site will be index. Need help looking after all the things you have to do and have no time?, contact me, I can help.

Pete

Google Page Ranking video

Everybody is trying to get the best Page Ranking, here is a short Google video that explains the benefit of server location.

Some much information, which one to pick

I did a search for "online marketing help" and could not find this Blog, why?, there are more than 181 million pages with this registered at Google.

But where do you find a One to One online help. Searching for "UK one to one online marketing help" still finds over 13 million. So if you found this Blog, we are both happy.

See my other posts and see if you think I can help.

Regards

Pete

Web resource added to the support Blog

New resource added for Web page ranking optimisation in the support Blog

You can do a lot with YouTube

Using YouTube to your advantage

YouTube is a great method to launch new products, visual backup to operating instructions, run a marketing campagne, the list is extensive.

Below are 3 examples of YouTube.

Princes Charles Rainforest video. A powerful message seen and viewed around the world.


http://www.youtube.com/v/CUQ1K284Ip4


Here is an example of a German company showing step by step instructions how to assemble a DIY fly screen.



http://www.youtube.com/v/zFylAxQHL-A

An example of using multiple YouTube videos in on frame.



Drachselsried YouTube videos from the Bayerischer
Wald



Drachselsried

Benefits of using YouTube for your company.

It is free and available worldwide.

The YouTube link url provided can be used in all types of marketing from Blogs, Websites and printed material.

The original video can be created using everyday video editing software, Flash can be used as well. 5 to 6 minutes is recommended as the maximum time.

Easy for anybody to view or add to their Blogs or websites.

This is work that I do, need help? please use the contact form

Have you updated your website or Blog this week?

Your website or Blog already has a "Page Ranking", it is important to keep it or even improve the level, because you need sales now and in the future. The problem is always, "I don't have the time", or "I'm not interested, as I have to do more important things". You need help with marketing your company or services.

These small insignificant actions are necessary and I enjoy doing them, it's my hobby. Use the contact form and lets see if we could work together. See the marketing tips in the menu bar.

Pete

Internet Marketing Support list now operating

We have now created an expanding resource of marketing support help files. If you need information, this a good source, if you have marketing information, this can be added free of charge. See the link Internet Marketing list in the Menu.

Pete

Sitemap on Squidoo has been updated

I have updated my Lensography or sitemap of my groups and Lenses on Squidoo. Need this doing for your company, please use the contact form.

Pete

Have you heard about the "School of Everything"?

A UK organisation has a very interesting concept for teaching. I have created
a support help group on Squidoo at School of Everything.

Using Squidoo is an excellent free method of creating more information about your company. The Internet is a net, a spiders web, so you have to create many different types of links to your home website. Squidoo is a great way to do this.

Pete

Creating a Squidoo Lens is great marketing

Squidoo is a great solution for creating a stand alone webpage (called a
Lens on Squidoo) which can compliment your existing website and Blog. creating-blogs

Here is a step by step guide to creating a Lens, creating-lenses. It is free and index very highly by search engines.

Pete

Using YouTube and others for your message


Prince Charles has launched his Rainforest video on YouTube. This is a great method to get your marketing message to a wide audience. Search engines often index these earlier than normal pages as these change very frequently. If you knew about YouTube, did you know there are 8 other methods of getting your video message out? So here is the Prince Charles Rainforest video.




Enjoy

Have you heard about Squidoo?

If you have never heard about Squidoo, check out this link http://www.squidoo.com/creating-lenses

The information is simple to use and is a great method to create addition links back to your website, it is updated frequently by search engines. I have more than 100.

Remember it is free, so it only costs your time, or if you would like, I can do it for you, just use the contact form.

Pete

What I do and what not.

I am not a web designer, yes small designs can be made, but this is not what I specialise in. Let's start with a typical requirement.

You have a website, but either it is not found in a search engine results at all, or is so far down the list it is a waste of effort. You have reduced staff levels, cut budgets, but still need sales. Maybe you are receiving loads of email enquiries, but with reduce staffing, they are not answered or take to long to reply.

This is where a "One to One" marketing support facility might help.

More information to follow.

Pete

Lets get started

How to start?

Well, if the following describes your company, then maybe I can offer a solution.
The present crisis is not limited to any one country, it is global, lost customers, reduce bank credit, staff reductions, but you have worked so hard, you just don't want to give up. Survial is the name of the game now.

If you think I am just another "Marketing Man" or "Consultant", I'm not. My company was "taken over" in the last financial crisis in the 1990's, so I know how you might be feeling.

The idea of this Blog is to provide a shoulder to cry on and come up with possible ideas and solutions, I am no Guru, just a normal person enjoying life. If you need help now, you can fill in the contact form and I will get back to you shortly.

Good luck
Pete