In the first part of this blog we introduced Google Adwords as a serious options for small businesses looking to increase their sales leads from the Internet. In this blog we'll be looking at three very important areas to work on before you start paying for advertising:

• Budgeting
• Keyword Research
• Updating your website to receive visitors

Budgeting - The first step for any campaign read more »

Sometimes, even when you have a great website that is representative of your fantastic business, you just can’t get a sufficient number of visitors to your website to generate the sales you require. read more »

Your business is entirely individual - taking into account the history, personnel, goals, ethics and client base of your business, there really is nothing else like it. With this in mind, your website needs to perform a job that is tailored to all of these things, specifically delivering on your business goals and meeting the requirements of your existing client base. read more »

You've heard all the names before - Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter - but have you ever really considered using these social network sites as tools to improve your business? With the right amount of dedication, patience and creativity, you can take your business to a whole new world of customers. read more »

2010 has been an incredibly difficult year for businesses across all sectors, with many simply glad to have survived until December. We are truly beginning to the see the knock-on effects of the public spending cuts, and consumer confidence is noticeably low.

If you’re still in business at the end of 2010, well done! There are many who haven’t found a way to keep their business focused and competitive enough to survive, and moving into 2011 will means things only get tougher for us all. read more »

News articles are a popular component of the modern website. Primarily they perform the function of letting your potential (and existing) customers know about all the latest events happening within your business, but they also provide important food for the search engine robots that crawl your website on a regular basis.

If you’re lucky, you will be generating enough great news through your business activities alone to populate regular articles, but when business is slow it can be hard to find something positive to write about. This is one good reason why it is good practice to use diverse topics for your news articles, and there are many other benefits to be gained from widening the subject matter of your articles too. read more »

Let’s face it, only a sadist enjoys standing up and making a presentation in front of a group of people. For most, it is the ultimate nightmare, but there are certain steps you can take to remove some of the pressure and give you more confidence.

Preparation and detail are everything. If you are under-prepared or are lacking confidence in the message you are trying to put across, you will struggle to give a convincing performance. Your audience are expecting to learn something useful or benefit in some way from attending your presentation, so focusing on your key messages is key. read more »

Given these fairly obvious facts, just how confident are you that your website copy reflects your business in the best light. Writing copy is a tricky business, but getting the basics right can ensure that potential customers aren’t put off before they find out how great you are. read more »

If your product or service is sound, and you are commited to the success of your online presence, then realising the potential that the web holds for your business is comfortably within your grasp. Take some time to research your competitor's websites and you will quickly come to realise that many of them offer nothing more than an online brochure, and they are often difficult to find if you don't already know the business name or website address. read more »