Business Wisdom

CD Business Cards – A Powerful Marketing Medium

CD Business Cards

CD Business Cards

For over ten years Toucan eMedia has been providing CD Business Cards to progressive business for marketing and generally for the distribution of information in an affordable and high impact way.

Unlike normal repro houses Toucan eMedia is a full service organisation capable of handling every part of a CD Business Card project from concept to final delivery and not just the CD Business Cards replication or duplication. The services can include presentation design, programming, video conversions, bespoke packaging; in fact everything to make your company look the best it can to prospective clients.
Toucan eMedia have structured prices to be competitive for the high quality services and products provided which is why international businesses with household names are content with our handing of their public image.cd_business_card_wallet1

You can store everything that your customers need to know about your business, from a full company presentation to details of products, services, interactive maps, databases and automatic links to the company’s web site. You can even store music sound tracks and include a voice-over if necessary.

Whether you need just 50 CD Business Cards or 50,000 Toucan eMedia have the resources to meet you requirements.

CD Business Card replication

CD Business Card replication

Denise Thomas of Toucan says “There are a few reasons why we enjoy such success, we have a very stringent quality control ethos, we spend time with clients so they are fully informed about the design and production procedures, even to the point where our key people will liaise with their programmers and designers and we’ll entertain small orders on very quick turnarounds.”

 

 

 


To find out more about CD Business Cards and how they could be of effective use to your business lease feel free to contact Denise at the contact points below.

Toucan Internet LLP

Toucan Internet LLP

t: 01279 871 694
e: denise@ebusiness-cards.co.uk
w: www.ebusiness-cards.co.uk

Copyright Toucan Internet LLP 2010©. All rights reserved.

11 FAQs on Search Engine Marketing

Having a commercially successful website is ever increasingly important to businesses as the website moves centre stage in delivering corporate communications, be that the sale of products or services, liaison with suppliers, customers, after sales support or integration with back office systems for integrated accounts and stock handling.

However if your website is not showing highly in the top search engine results for your prime search phrases your business is missing out. This is shark infested waters for businesses looking for quality honest suppliers to provide effective and affordable optimisation of their websites so it is found by the search engines with their chosen key terms. There are companies that promise results and either fail to deliver, fail to deliver consistently or use techniques that could ultimately damage your reputation or brand online by having your web domain blacklisted.

Below are a few basic questions that are routinely asked to help you fill in the blanks when considering how to make your website work harder for you.

1. What is Search Engine Optimisation or SEO?

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation. It encompasses a raft of techniques and approaches to increase the readiness of your website to be understood and therefore categorised by the search engines.

2. What is an Organic listing?

An organic listing is the listing of one of your web pages in a search engine and it is included and ranked based on the search engines perceived merits of your web page and website. More and more it is apparent that the good quality websites that deliver great content and play by the rules are finding favour with the search engines.  

3. What is Ethical Search Engine Optimisation?

Ethical Search Engine Optimisation or White Hat SEO is simply the use of good optimisation techniques that brings real benefit to the possible visitors to your site. The programmes that assess your site are getting ever more cleverer about rating what is good and penalising what could be seen as trying to take unfair advantage.

4. What are Black Hat techniques?

These are techniques that can be employed to spoof the search engines into thinking that your site is better than it actually is. Whilst we perceive that good SEO techniques should push the envelope, we strongly recommend stopping short of Black Hat techniques since should you be found to have used techniques, or have engaged someone who has used such techniques on your website, it can result in your page being penalised or even excluded from some or all of the major search engines.

5. Why does my website not show in the search results?

There is a raft of different reasons when this may be the case and here are a few for consideration:

  1. You may not have a search engine optimised design. Many designers create brilliant designs, but do not team up with equivalently skilled web partners who know how to write the code that delivers the site to the web browser.
  2. The site may not be written to be adequately readable by the search engines that you want to engender.
  3. The site or web pages could have missing or incongruous elements such that the search engine is confused about the content and purpose of the site.
  4. You or your web engineer may have strayed into inadvertently using Black Hat Techniques. And the site has been downgraded in response. You may not have submitted the site adequately as part of your post launch search engine marketing. (See http://blog.toucan-group.com/?p=17 for an extensive SEM program) .

6. What is Keyword research?

Keyword research is finding the right words that will deliver the highest number of visitors to your website possible. Believe me, a single “S” going from a singular to a plural can mean a tenfold difference in visitors.

To get to the optimum keywords the routine is to start with your instinctive choices, extract key words from top competing sites, then rank all those terms in order of real world usage. Then, by applying some instinctive personal understanding of the market place, together with an eye to how much the term is contended, draw up your final list. How this list is subsequently used is down to the skills of your web coder and copywriter who should work “hand in glove”.

7. How do I get recognised or ranked for specific keywords?

Apart from putting the right keywords in the right places you have to have the right keywords selected in the first place. Once the site is optimised and launched into the big wide world it needs to be promoted and this is where a comprehensive Search Engine Marketing programme needs to be put in place so the site is promoted and monitored properly. It not only needs to be promoted to the obvious search engines but also the niche directories and local gazetteer sites.

8. What is search engine friendly design?

The way a design is converted to a web page can be the make or break of a site’s search engine performance; a friendly design is readable and an unfriendly design is far less so. Certain techniques hamper search engines from understanding your site and some can stop a search engine from even looking at your pages. This is where you need a good web construction partner who you trust to understand what can be done and also to get the best out of the creative design provided by the designer. Here you start to see that web coder, creative designer and copywriter have to work as one for a website that stands any chance of success against the every rising bar of other quality websites.

Cheap doesn’t work – no matter how pretty the design.
9. Are Meta tags useful?

Absolutely, Google may ignore Meta Tag Keywords, but the properly written Meta Description is paramount to good SEO.

10.How can I achieve a top 10 result?

Follow all the rules, do the research and keep the site current and relevant. Promote under a structured Search Engine Marketing programme and respond to the feedback that the SEM campaign gives you.

11. Is cheap hosting a good idea?

Absolutely not! Taking Google as the market leading search provider; it rates websites on performance. Performance is measured a number of ways, some will be as a result of how the site was built and some by how it is delivered. Cheap servers deliver sites in a measurably slower manner for any number of reasons and your site will be ranked accordingly. There is free software on the Internet to monitor website performance and you want to be sure that you’re not “saving” on hosting but missing out on good rankings – it’s a false economy to do so.


About the Author.

This article was written by Simon Thomas who has been active on the Internet since 1995 and runs a number of commercially successful Internet projects. He supports the building of clients’ websites to the correct standards, not just SEO, and maintains on-going search engine marketing for clients that value high performing websites.

toucan-beak-tag-150For more information.

t: 01279 871 694

e: simon@toucanweb.co.uk

w: www.toucanweb.co.uk

Copyright Toucan Internet LLP 2009©. All rights reserved.

We can speak Klingon

“Having a website properly created, run and promoted for you is an important part of business now. Having a company that can provide such a service in a totally reliable, professional and friendly (non-Klingon-speaking) way is even more important. Lucky me: I found that company in the form of Simon and his team at Toucan. If your web co. doesn’t measure up, feel free to move to Toucan – I’ll share!”

Jane Malyon
Trainer – Coach – Writer – Speaker – “Agony Aunt”

See Jane’s Websites from Toucan >>>

Having been immersed in the commercial side of the Internet since 1995 we at Toucan can talk Klingon where required but prefer helping you develop your online business in plain English.
Please call us for a chat.

toucan-beak-tag-150t: 01279 871 694
e: simon@toucanweb.co.uk
w: www.toucanweb.co.uk

Copyright Toucan Internet LLP 2009©. All rights reserved.

Web of Deceit

What to do if you become a victim of online fraud

Routine online shopping and banking transactions should not pose any problems for people using the Internet, however the World Wide Web has vast scope for criminality, and fraudsters have been quick to exploit the opportunities it provides.

Here are some of the risks:

  • Emails purporting to be from banks, credit card companies or other financial institutions such as PayPal, that direct you to fake websites where they try to extract essential security information from you, (known as Phishing)
    ADVICE: Never follow links in emails. Instead go to the official site and login as usual.
  • Emails, that contain attachments that carry a virus or Trojan payload.
    ADVICE: If you don’t know the sender, never open an attachment.
  • Websites that download tracking cookies, adware, Malware or viruses directly onto your computer.
    ADVICE: Install antivirus software that will check all sites you visit.
  • Transactions with strangers via Ebay that turn out to be fraudulent.
    ADVICE: Never, ever send money via Western Union or other transfer service. Never allow a buyer to pay more for an item than expected, and never send them the ‘change’, as their original payment will always bounce.

Always install good Anti virus, firewalls and anti-phishing software on your computers and activate email-scanning too.

If you think you have been de-frauded online, report it to your local police station. Essex police has a fraud department that will liaise on your behalf with the appropriate authorities and internet companies to try and bring the criminals to justice. This includes foreign forces and Interpol.

Ebay and PayPal also have their own dispute resolution services and offer some protection to their users.

 

 

Peter Caulfield, Uttlesford Crime Reduction Advisor & Architectural Liaison Officer
Essex police, East Street, Saffron Walden, CB10 1LX 01376 556233
General Non-Emergency Number – 0300 333 4444 and ask for the person or department you require.

toucan-beak-tag-150

 

For more information on Toucan and how we could help develop your business

please call us for a chat.

t: 01279 871 694

e: simon@toucanweb.co.uk

w: www.toucanweb.co.uk

Copyright Toucan Internet LLP 2009©. All rights reserved.

Be Web Wise – as published in NBA Passport Sept 2009

nba_article-imageSimon Thomas, from Toucan Internet LLP, talks us through
his experiences.

Most businesses want to hang onto their cash and investigate what gives them the best bang for their buck; something we should all be doing all of the time, but brought into focus as the recession squeezes our cash.

Nothing could emphasis this more when we see the upturn in investment by bus­inesses that have analys­ed their ROI’s and have woken up to the fact that the Net is in many cases the quick­est, cheapest and most effective route to market and has been either ignored or played with without serious intent in the past. Many clients have re­align­­ed budgets, giving sig­nif­­­ic­ant­ly less or no spend for space advertis­ing and sales people in favour of online marketing.

For example it is possible to build an administrative system that will run all the courses for a national swim school for £5,000. David Cartwright, MD of the Cartwrights Swim School said “It was a big leap of faith for us to move from trad­itional paper based systems. We knew it would be the quickest way to communi­cate with the hundreds of clients we have on courses all around the country and would also be the automated administrat­ive centre.”

It’s a fairly simple job to identify from where best business rewards will come when reviewing a business m.o. and their current marketing. Don’t subscribe to the philosophy that if it’s simple it doesn’t work.

Pat Fox, MD of Aralia Garden Design, noted: “Over a couple of weeks this summer, our site gen­erat­­ed three orders totalling £63,000.”  

Article published in Passport the Newport Business Association monthly business publication

nba_logo

For details of the Newport Business Association – www.newportbusinessassociation.co.uk

The full September issue of Passport is available in PDF format here >>>.

For more information on Toucan and how we could help develop your business
please call us for a chat.

toucan-beak-tag-150t: 01279 871 694
e: simon@toucanweb.co.uk
w: www.toucanweb.co.uk

Copyright Toucan Internet LLP 2009©. All rights reserved.

Five tips for more cost effective Google AdWords advertising

Google Adwords Optimisation

Google Adwords Optimisation

A simple but powerful message from Google that is of use to all Toucan Internet’s clients running their own Adwords Campaigns.

Today, more than ever, it’s hugely important to ensure that your company’s money is well spent.
With this in mind, we at Google have put together a short video outlining 5 tips on very simple things you can do to help ensure that your AdWords advertising is cost effective and successful in attracting users to your website.”

Google May 2009

 

t: 01279 871 694

e: simon@toucanweb.co.uk

Copyright Toucan Internet LLP 2009©. All rights reserved.

Key Steps in the Preparation of a Commercially Successful Website

Simon Thomas 7th May 2009 BNI Stansted

Simon Thomas of Toucan Internet LLP delivered a ten minute talk to Stansted BNI on the key stages involved in the development of a commercially successful website.

By popular request the MS PowerPoint “slides” are made available for those that may want these for reference.

Download presentation BNI10mins200905i1PublicLIVE.ppsx 4.17MB
We suggest you save this to your local hard disk to run.
Note some browser security may convert this to a ZIP file as a security measure.

If you are at the point where your business needs a commercially successful website, either by creating one from your current cobweb or by creating one anew, just contact Simon for a chat.

t: 01279 871 694 toucan-beak-tag-150

e: simon@toucanweb.co.uk

Copyright Toucan Internet LLP 2009©. All rights reserved.

Budget Report from Pawley & Malyon

2009 Budget ReportChartered Accountants Pawley and Malyon have made available their 2009 Budget Report following the Chancellor’s budget speech on 22nd April.

This is available to all as a PDF download >>>>

Whilst on site at http://www.pawley-malyon.com take time to review the accountancy services of Pawley and Malyon, they are a long established practice with experts in both business and personal fields including, but not limited to:

  • Auditing
  • Accounting
  • Company Secretarial
  • Taxation Advice
  • Business Planning Service
  • Payroll

For more information contact Senior Partner David Malyon at:

T: 020 7462 9020

E: david.malyon@pawley-malyon.com

This site is designed and hosted by Toucan Internet LLP

Business Link Approves Toucan Internet LLP

businesslink_logo1Business Link, providers of a wealth of business support, administers the distribution of regional grants and funding.

With regards to business websites and on-line marketing, Toucan Internet LLP has surpassed the entry requirements and is now included the approved supplier brokerage list.

To find out more about Business Link and available funding please see www.businesslink.gov.uk

To chat over any possible on-line marketing needs you may have please call 01279 871 694 or visit Toucan Internet LLP

Copyright Toucan Internet LLP 2009©. All rights reserved.