Last Updated: May 13, 2016 by Ben
Small businesses often have an uphill battle to fight by their very nature. They are smaller, have less cash on hand, and traditionally don’t have the budget to get the same level of advertising or marketing attention that large established companies can put down.
The good news is that modern technology has, in many ways, evened the playing field for small local businesses. That being said, understanding that SEO and digital marketing are important is a far cry from actually being able to use them effectively. While many small businesses, especially those run by “old school” professionals with decades of experience in their industry but who aren’t familiar with online business or changing trends at all.
Why Digital Marketing Matters
Digital marketing isn’t just “the wave of the future,” it is something that small local businesses need right now. On average over half of all buying decisions start with an online search. This means businesses that don’t have a website, or don’t have a website that ranks on page one, are giving up at least half of their potential business right off the bat.
In addition to this, younger generations look up services online at over a 75% rate – making it even harder to get new youthful customers without an online presence.
SEO and digital marketing is what takes a boring old website that any small business can put together and push them to the top of the search engine results pages. This is where over 90% of the traffic finds their solution – and having those first page rankings is the key to thriving.
How SEO Plays Into It
There are many different types of digital marketing that include pay per click (PPC) advertising, banner ads, and social media marketing. These are all great ways to get more attention and more exposure to a business, but it all starts with a high quality website.
Even the best website in the world isn’t going to do a lot of good if no one can find it. Search engine optimization (SEO) is what allows a small business owner to beat their competition in the ratings, and this is an even field. You can’t buy your way to the top, which means a small business with a smart SEO consultant will be able to take care of the on-site and off-site issues that need to fall into line in order to get the online results a business needs to succeed.
The right combination of digital marketing and SEO can have incredible results for any local business that invests in them.
Last Updated: August 8, 2020 by Ben
Mould Removal – How To Stop Mould From Growing In Your Home
To stop mould from invading your home, it is important to make sure your home stays dry. Mould requires moisture in order to grow. Since many homes feature wood materials and paper-faced drywall, there is always a food source present for mould to grow. Mould also thrives on dust mite and cockroach feces, dust, food particles, and skin flakes. For this reason, keeping your home clean and free from moisture is the only strategy to prevent mould growth in your home.
How To Keep Your Home Dry
The first process of mould removal is to ensure the moisture levels in your home are low by using an exhaust fan in your kitchen or bathroom where most of the moisture is usually generated. It is also important to ensure that air that is generated from a clothes dryer is allowed to exhaust out of your home.
If you want to use a humidifier, first find out about the humidity levels present in your home. You can a hygrometer which is a device used for measuring relative humidity. The RH (relative humidity) should stay below 60%. You should only be using a humidifier if the RH drops below 25%.
The second step to successfully removing mould is to check for wet spots or damp areas. Basement walls, windows, plumbing pipes, and roofs can leak. If you notice a leak, dry the damp or wet areas as fast as possible. If there is a water leak, mould spores will start to grow within 24 to 48 hours.
Continous or small recurring leaks hidden in floors, ceilings, or walls present a challenge since the growth of mould can become extensive before it is found. Check for damp areas under sinks, in your ceilings and bathroom, or any other plumbing area. If you start noticing a musty strong smell or damp areas, call a professional mould removal expert as soon as you can.
Last Updated: May 22, 2016 by Ben
Organizing You Business Finances
When you start up a business, you will have to organize the finances in a decisive and effective way if you want to have any chance of achieving success. Organization of funds can be a tricky road but if you do it right, you will definitely benefit a great deal.
When looking after your business finances, there are some things that you will have to consider. One of these things is a business bank account. If you are operating as a sole trader, then you are not required by law to have a different bank account for your business, so you can just use your own. However, if you want to make it easier to track your business expenses and profits, it would be better to have a separate bank.
As a start-up business, you also need to develop a book-keeping system. There are many types of book-keeping products that can be of great help to you, both manual and digital. You can also hire a professional to do the job for you if you are too busy or not conversant with book-keeping.
Once of the most important part of running a business is a budget. Without a budget you are just setting yourself up for failure. You have to outline all your forecasted expenses and incomes so that you can manage the cash flow in and out of your business in an organized manner. A budget will also help you in preparing for the future of your business.
As a competent businessman, you have to manage your cash flow. Ensure that you keep track of the money that is coming into your business and that is going out of your business. You can easily achieve this using a cash-flow statement. This allows you to keep track of all incomes and helps you plan for your expenses, thus you can plan ahead for your business.
Last Updated: May 13, 2016 by Ben
The Importance of SEO & Digital Marketing for Small Business
Small businesses often have an uphill battle to fight by their very nature. They are smaller, have less cash on hand, and traditionally don’t have the budget to get the same level of advertising or marketing attention that large established companies can put down.
The good news is that modern technology has, in many ways, evened the playing field for small local businesses. That being said, understanding that SEO and digital marketing are important is a far cry from actually being able to use them effectively. While many small businesses, especially those run by “old school” professionals with decades of experience in their industry but who aren’t familiar with online business or changing trends at all.
Why Digital Marketing Matters
Digital marketing isn’t just “the wave of the future,” it is something that small local businesses need right now. On average over half of all buying decisions start with an online search. This means businesses that don’t have a website, or don’t have a website that ranks on page one, are giving up at least half of their potential business right off the bat.
In addition to this, younger generations look up services online at over a 75% rate – making it even harder to get new youthful customers without an online presence.
SEO and digital marketing is what takes a boring old website that any small business can put together and push them to the top of the search engine results pages. This is where over 90% of the traffic finds their solution – and having those first page rankings is the key to thriving.
How SEO Plays Into It
There are many different types of digital marketing that include pay per click (PPC) advertising, banner ads, and social media marketing. These are all great ways to get more attention and more exposure to a business, but it all starts with a high quality website.
Even the best website in the world isn’t going to do a lot of good if no one can find it. Search engine optimization (SEO) is what allows a small business owner to beat their competition in the ratings, and this is an even field. You can’t buy your way to the top, which means a small business with a smart SEO consultant will be able to take care of the on-site and off-site issues that need to fall into line in order to get the online results a business needs to succeed.
The right combination of digital marketing and SEO can have incredible results for any local business that invests in them.
Last Updated: November 9, 2016 by Ben
Commercial Cleaning Services Can Be Convenient and Economical for a Business
Every commercial establishment, be it an office or retail space, does need to be kept clean and neat. It ensures that both the staff who work there and the customers who visit are in a healthy environment and pleasant and attractive surroundings.
It will require work to be carried out for the cleaning of floors, windows, bathrooms and all areas and removal of garbage. It is always possible to appoint staff to perform these functions. They will, however, require being supervised and provided with the necessary cleaning materials. Their work during working hours can quite often disturb operations and make it inconvenient for customers. In such circumstances, it is more sensible to allocate the cleaning work to commercial cleaning services providers.
When you appoint such outside agencies for cleaning work, you can arrange for them to carry out the work after the normal working times, so that operations and work are never disturbed or interrupted. You can get these agencies to also clean carpets, change light fittings, and many other chores that are necessary for the smooth operations of an establishment. Floors can be waxed, and equipment can be repaired and maintained.
When these works are all to be carried out in-house, you will require appointing staff that may often never remain fully occupied, due to the intermittent requirements. It causes higher costs and also leads to supervision needs. Commercial cleaning Brisbane will have specialized staff and equipment that allows the work to be completed in a short time. The fact that they operate as a business will have them always moving their resources to other establishments that they are contracted with, and thus, allow for reduced costs of operations. These cost reduction will be passed on partly to the customers, and thus, lead to lower costs for such housekeeping for the businesses.
A business needs to assess its cleaning and other requirements before it appoints a commercial cleaning services provider. It can also help if it can determine the right time for this cleaning, and in cases where this is to be done after working hours, adequate arrangements will have to be in place for security. Brisbane Cleaners used by the service provider must not be harmful, and it is best if green and environmentally friendly ones are used. The agency appointed must be reliable and trustworthy as they will have the entire premises at their mercy while the cleaning work is being carried out.
Last Updated: May 22, 2016 by Ben
Business Administration is a Vital Function for Successful Businesses
Businesses are set up to gain profits from the production and sale of goods or services. Every organization has to achieve certain objectives this requires a systematic effort. Business administration defines the process that every business needs to have in place to augment these efforts.
The primary objective of any business administration is to produce and supply the goods or services that any community needs. This objective can only be attained if there is a continuous supply of these goods and services that meet a particular need. Every business has four resources that it will use to achieve its objectives. These are the 4 Ms, men, material, money, and management.
Every manager has to use the available capital and human resources to convert its ideas into what it wants to achieve. When you have an adequate amount of money, the people with the right knowledge and experience, and the high quality of materials, it is the management that will ultimately have to use these resources to their optimum, so that the business can be profitable. It needs administrators to utilize the resources that they have in the best possible way, through proper planning, leadership, and adequate supervision.
The management in any firm has to be clear in the policies that it will follow, and the objectives it needs to attain. Business administration will help a firm to plan its operations, organize necessary finance and other resources, allocate duties to staff based on their qualifications and experience, issue directions on the jobs to be carried out, guide the work and coordinate between the various sections so that all the objectives of the company are met.
Most firms will have their operations broken down into areas like production, marketing, personnel, and finance. Large organizations may have separate staff for each of these functions, but in smaller ones or those that are just starting up, senior people may have to multitask and perform many functions. Larger companies may even have separate research and development activities that need to be managed and supervised.
Last Updated: May 22, 2016 by Ben
Small Business Marketing
For large firms which have big advertising and marketing budgets, it is far easier to market goods and get all the required information to the interested parties. This is because the funds you require to do all these marketing procedures are readily available. However, startup entrepreneurs and owners of small businesses do not have the luxury of a large budget. They will need a marketing strategy that is affordable and brings investment into the business within no time.
If you want to make it in the market of today, you will have to incorporate online marketing into your marketing endeavors. Nowadays, most people trust the internet and for most cases, people will resort to the internet to find a good service provider or a product that they may be interested in purchasing. It is therefore important that as an entrepreneur, you do not limit your marketing to posters, newsletters and after sale services.
Email marketing is a vital part of online marketing. It is advantageous in that it is very cheap. It is also very highly recommended because it is a strategy that works. It will be effective for you regardless of the size of the organization or the market. Not only is this method effective on passing information on products and services, it is also preferred by most customers. Research shows that most consumers prefer email as a channel for communication about a brand.
If you want your online marketing to be effective, it is advisable that you set up a website. Websites are not very expensive as you can have a simple one made for your business at a small price. A website is a very good platform for online marketing as it acts as an avenue where consumers can get information about your product.
In this website, you can also include your contact information and a number of videos about your product or service. Videos are quite attractive to customers since through them the customers can have an idea of how the product is used or how these services are provided. This will go a long way in convincing the consumer that they should pick your product.
One of the most effective online platforms where you can be assured to get a large audience for information about your product or service is Social Media. Social media is becoming increasingly popular among most people in the world and it thus a very good avenue for online marketing. In addition to that, it provides the consumer with the opportunity to interact and converse with the producer and so it can instill confidence in the seller.
Other than online marketing, there are various other ways in which you can market your small business. This include starting up podcasts, creating your events, volunteering, attending networking events, giving out free items, supporting a cause or even sponsoring an organization. As a startup business owner, your market is barely aware of your product and so you will need to be extremely vigilant if you want to attract customers to your product or service.
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