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1)     One of the most difficult things to do with an online store is to optimise it. What you need to do is consider making each one of your product descriptions into a full page. Take a look at how Amazon set out their products, picture at the top and descriptions and specifications and other content and links below. Seems to work well for them :)

2)     On-site optimisation is important but equally important is back links this tells Google that you are one of the good guys each one acts like a vote in your favour. It is best practice to get back links from more authoritative web sites this means web sites with page rank of 1 or over. The back link text also needs to contain the relevant key word for the page it is linking too. But remember the link will work best if comes from a web site that is in your line of business, but not in direct competition.

3)     Instead of starting from scratch on product descriptions try to recycle your common product descriptions and make them as unique as humanly possible. Remember to use the keywords most relevant to the description of the page. Think of the shape of a Christmas tree the star being your page title and all other related keywords filtering down to create your content. Try mixing in your keywords using different variations, then read it back to yourself out loud, it should sound natural.

4)     Try to cross reference related items between individual product pages when possible - accessories, similar products, products on sale. What this does is add relevant content to each page and helps you to create an internal linking system.

5)      Really try to get product reviews as these can help customers decide if they should buy or not. This is also helps you create fresh content; a good way to get feedback from customers is to offer a good discount on their next purchase. It is also good to get independent reviews from external web sites as your own web site reviews could be seen as less accurate, try to get a healthy balance between the two.

6)     You probably engage on social media sites like facebook and twitter (if you don’t you should look into it) Good practice is to look for groups and discussions with something related to your field of business. Do not go in with sales pitches; get involved in conversation get to know people and the time to describe your items or business will naturally arise. Running competitions are a good way to get people talking about your product (people tend not to do a lot for nothing - make the prize decent enough and it should attract attention - traffic and leads could potentially generate enough to cover the cost of the prize)

7)      Add quality content to your web site by helping your customers come to a decision, this might be in the way of articles on - choosing your first ___ or how to use ___ properly, check lists for expectant mothers for example (build one so they can print it off, plaster it with your contact details, web site address. You could even go as far as having a discount code associated with using the check list - could entice them back.

We just had to have a go at making one of these ourselves, but the frustration was we had to order an integral part – the conductive foam. There are thousands of tutorials out there showing you how to do it with conductive foam and aluminium foil but we come across an article that said you can use a house hold cleaning pad named Scotch Brite.

This was the mission we went on to see if this really worked or not. Another reason we wanted to do this other than too waste an afternoon,  we wanted to source the places where you can get the materials to do this so anyone can have a go at this.

 Most of the articles and tutorials explained they either used conductive foam or scotch brite foam and after our searching found this to be a long process we were too impatient for that.

We did however look into conductive foam but the only place we could find this was Maplins but they did not stock it, we would have had to order it online – but we could not wait.

The search went on for the alternative Scotch Brite cleaning pad, but again turned out fruitless as no one seemed to stock this brand. We then took a gamble on some of the other foam cleaning pads that where on the shelf and brought them back to the office to try out.

We bought a car interior cleaning sponge and 2 thick moppet sponges to carry out tests on. We didn’t even have to try the car interior cleaner as the moppet sponge pads worked fantastically on the ipad screen.

We were in business all we had to do now is source an appropriate casing to create our fairly good-looking stylus (one that is so good-looking that you can take it into a meeting and be proud) We found one and you will be able to find it in the JML classic pen set ( you know the one where the guy puts a hole through a coke can with the fountain pen and can still write with it) we used the pencil casing from this as it was perfect for conductivity. Or you can find one like it any art crafts or stationery shop.

We also added some copper wire to the ingredients to make sure this thing worked, we did not test if it worked better with or without we thought it would help with conductivity and just gives a bit of weight to the stylus - we just stripped down an old bit of flex for this.

Ok we have sourced the materials to create the stylus now here is our step by step instructions on how to put this thing together:

1. Strip out the metal pencil of all it insides and even the nib
2. Strip down the flex for the copper wire
3. Cut a strip of foam from the spontex sponge not to big approx 1cm then cut that piece into 2 parts.
4. Start pushing one of the pieces of foam into the empty case until it reaches the end where the pencil nib used to be, when you see it at the end pull it out so you have an overhang of about 1cm.
5. Twist your copper wire and then start to push this into the metal pencil and pack it in a tight as you can until you have 2cm’s or more of space left at the top.
6. In the space left by the copper wire use the second bit of foam to stuff in and secure everything. ( to seal the end we used some moulding plastic from Maplins)
7. All that is left to do is to trim the end where the foam is sticking out, simply trim down with a pair of scissors so you have a nice neat nib almost like a snooker cue tip and you should then be ready to go.

It has been a while since we have added a new blog, down to the fact it had been really busy here at Webpro. We have had a lot of of interest from small businesses from all over the Cleveland area. Like I say it has been a hectic few months and we have been working on some new products that are not just website based but also focus on marketing businesses and getting the word out about your business and website.

We have come up with a couple of products that combine websites with good old fashioned marketing and methods that are sure to get you noticed.

It just seemed like a natural way to go as we get asked the question time and time again "how do you get traffic to a website?" It does take time going down the route of SEO (search engine optimisation) but the benefits are fantastic once you gain the right ranking for the keywords linked to your business.

We got to thinking how can we help our customers get the word out fast and effectively about their business and more importantly the website (especially if you are selling products from the website) what we come up with is two packages that give you a website but also help you to market your business with the use of flyers, business cards, compliment slips and letter heads, these might not seem important in this age of social media, but down to the core of your business you need to get that branding right. It is so important to give a good first impression, and this can be demonstrated through your stationary, or promotional material.

I don't want this to turn into a sales pitch but have a quick look at the new packages, you get the feeling of what we are trying to do for businesses in the Cleveland area.

What do you guys and girls do to promote your business?

thank you for reading

Neil