Just off the phone with Eircom after a new client came in and asked could we take over their domain name registration and their web hosting. I called 1800 203 204 then option 2 then option 2 again and then 1 but they now have another option that let me on a merry journey that stole an hour of my life I will never see again.

Grr

“What’s a domain name? Oh You mean a website?”

Hmm, my confidence was slipping. So after an hour og being told I was onto the wrong department and it was their collegues who put me through in the first place I had spoken to 6 different department, including Broadband Services, residential sales, business sales, General customer services and  (some girl who didn’t what a domain was).

It’s easy to see why people use smaller businesses like our own. Yes we charge more but theirs a reason. We deal with the issues ourselves and get problems resolved for clients fast.

It did cost €10 euro to renew the domain name, but it cost my client an hour of our time and weeks of his own time trying to renew and transfer the domain to ourselves.

We don’t complete on price with the bigger internet companies because we can’t, but where we can is on service. If you are tired of being on hold for a living and getting nowhere in renewing your domain or hosting services call myself Dave Jordan and we will take the pain out of domain name renewals and hosting for you.

Breath dave, breath! Grr!

Ps, to be far to eircom, Paul McKenna sorted us out once we got through and was professional and knew exactly his role in the whole ordeal. It’s just we all need a Direct Dial for him!

Thanks Paul

True, we have a business on the phone today telling me that they paid over 2K to a guy to design a website 4 months ago and since have got nothing. It turns out that the guy was subcontracting the job to kids who where letting him down and so he couldn’t produce the website himself.

If you are looking for a website for your business, make sure to look for :

• Good references,
  • Ask friends if they have heard of the company?
  • Do they operate from a mobile number?
  • How long are they in business?
  • How long have they worked in the industry?

• View their clients websites,
  • Look at the quality of their work
  • How many clients do they have?
  • How much do they charge?

• Ring their clients,
  • Ask about the company/person
  • Was the job to their satisfaction?
  • Did they pay too much?

• Make sure they are a registered business
  • Check with www.Revenue.ie or www.Cro.ie

• Are they charging too much?
  • Are they calling and doing the “Hard Sell”?
  • Are they pestering you for business?
  • Are they desperate for your money?

+ If you have answered Yes, then look else where for a website design company.

* And last hint, choosing a web design company in Wexford is easy, just use some common sense and choose a company that is established. There are many “fly by nights” in every industry and our industry is no exception. So be careful.

Dave Jordan of Cada Media Ltd (previously T/A “The Web Guy”) has been trading in the Internet business supplying professional, quality service since 1999. Our Office is located at: , Rosc House, John Street, Gorey, Co. Wexford.

We get asked about how much does it cost to set up a website and why get a company involved as many people see that there are Free online tools to set up a website, in the video i try to explain the difference.

Understanding the internet

One remark that comes up again and again is how “confusing the internet is”...

Indeed the world wide web is such a vast virtual organism that its hardly suprising that many folks are stumped when it comes to applying the latest web technology such as blogs, you tube videos, flickr photos , forums and google tools to their business.

For example a restaurant owner or blind manufacturer may be suprised at how the web can work for his /her business promoting their brand and ethos not justy locally in Gorey or Wicklow but internationally.

A few points about the web include:

• size doesnt matter,
• you get out what you put in ,
• believe in it and it will reward you
• and of course, content is king.

So don’t give up , why not call into us here at John Street Gorey and find out from our google guru Dave Jordan – no seriously, he has been called this by clients ..(in fact recent clients have  described a conversation with him as full of ‘new york energy’ ( I dont think he’s been to new york yet?) and how he ‘has basically explained the web to me“)…exactly how google and the web can promote and help your business grow…

The Web IS everywhere..Be part of it!

Rosa

A Friday in Dublin..

On Friday last I was in meetings in Dublin and then got a call from a friend suggesting to have dinner, so I rang the other half and arranged for us all to have dinner in the Mespil hotel along by the banks of the grand canal. Opposite sits Patrick Kavanagh reminding me how County Monaghan “burgled the banks of his youth“. The famous Irish Poet is cast in bronze on the canal as a tribute to Irish Poetry as,  of course the Land of Saints and scholars!

What Recession, the bar was full..

We had arranged to meet in the bar at 7:30 and so we got to the hotel at around 7:15 and saw there was a buzz about the place, the reception was answering questions from americans tourists and running through a map the hotel provides it’s guests with things to do and attractions in Dublin. I took one and went into the bar.

After seeing the tourists, I decided to order a pint of guinness and sample a pint of the black stuff, It was good really good. In fact by the time our friends arrived I was ready for round two!

We met our friends and moved into the dinning room, the staff are friendly and welcoming. Being seated at the window wasn’t my first choice of places to sit, but after we were all seated I understood why we had been put there. We sat and chatted as Dublin twlight came across the canal and we started to people watch.

The restaurant was busy too, families and business men after a long day, a real mix of modern life. We were delighted to see the menu wasn’t a fussy D4 menu. It was straight forward with spuds and saugages, homemade burgers but all with a chef’s twist to them, We ordered one of each and were delighted with the results. The food and the service was great, it’s nice to see again how customers are important to a hotel.

Hmm Dessert!

You know the old expression “I didn’t know whether to eat it or get my camera” well that what I said when we got our desserts. I’m normally not a sweet tooth kinda guy, but there were all really good. Nice to see that a hotel can make a good expresso too.

We then went back into the bar for a last tipple before we went our seperate ways an again the subject of the buzz about the place came up, a family singling happy birthday over in one conor, Americans turning maps around wondering which way was North and I decided to call a taxi. My mobile phone was beeping at me letting me know the battery was nearly out so I headed to reception to see if any one could help.

Night Porters are great!

Having a Nokia 96 is great fun, but its battery life isn’t. The guy on reception was very helpful and said that they did have a charger for that particular phone and he would look atfer it for me. They also offered to call a cab from reception if we needed one.

It’s all about the details in Business and well done to the Mespil Hotel as they have got it right.

I took this photo the next morning from the banks of th canal. I waited so the bus would be in frame on purpose, that was you can see how close it is to the front door if you would like to have a trip on a coastal tour of County Wicklow. See more on the following link Dublin Tour Bus

It’s our first you tube video so here it goes . . . .

Why use a Newsletter for your business?

This another one of the frequently asked questions we get asked about how to use the Internet for business.  A email newsletter is a fast, efficient, cheap method of communicating with your clients.

You don’t even need a website!

There are many types of newsletter systems available both as hosted (on your own website) or as stand alone applications hosted on someone else’s website. Here are a few links to get you started.

• www.newsweaver.ie
• www.toddle.com
• www.constantcontact.com

We offer our own hosted versions on our clients website that have no monthly bills, you simply type up the newsletter and send. The system takes care of the legal issues like having an unsubscribe option etc. Note our systems wont charge you a monthly fee or won’t charge you per email.

Remember these types of systems will give you great stats, they will let you know who looked at the newletter, what part of it they clicked on to return to your website and much more.

To find out how a newsletter email system can help your business, call Dave or Roz on 053 9430748

How to get to the top of Google.

This again comes up week after week as inquiries ask about Domain Names and Search Engines. Today a guy was asking if he registered a certain domain name will he come up first in Google, rather than register his own company name.

The Answer is. . .

Maybe!

People under estimate the power of a search engine and the whole science behind it. Many assume its total fluke or chance to get listed in Google. It’s not. It’s hard work, experience and quality content.  How did you find this article? Most likely you searched for a certain term and a search engine return this as a possible answer.

I always suggest to clients to register a few domain names to cover your bases. About 6 years ago it was very important to have a good generic domain name lets say www.electricity.ie or www.estateagent.ie and Google would return them higher than others. But since then search engines have looked less at the domain and rather concentrated on the “Content” . They want to return a website that answered the persons question. They are always changing the methods in which they rank websites.

Changing their algorithm.

I have been harping on for the past six months about how “Google” for instance is changing the ways its is ranking website. One of the main reasons would seem to be that they are keeping up with technology and as new technology rolls out online they too must keep in touch and make sure they are able to read and index the new content, Flash animation, images and video to mention a few.

We have a number of inquiries at the moment and they all have registered nice names, good generic, easy to remember name. But one thing that they all assume is that they will automatically get listed No 1 in Google because they bought a domain.

It’s like buying a spanner and assuming that you will win the Formula 1 in Monaco next year. I’m not saying in out of the question, I’m just saying that it’s a bit of a long shot.

When you register a domain it is the first step in creating a successful online business. To see how we can help you get to the top of the search engine of your choice call me, Dave Jordan today to find out more.

I promise I won’t rant for too long!

Content, Content,  Content.

We had an inquiry today (you know you are “T”!) asking for a website with an into page with flash animation and maybe some soft music. This is available to everyone but I had to steer the conversation around to a few questions that soon answered if she really wanted a flash intro page with soft music etc

• Who are you target market?
  • How old are they?
  • Men or women?
  • Irish?
  • European?
  • USA?
• What is the website for?
  • Information
  • Sales Leads
• What time are they online?
  • Mostly evening
  • online in work

The list of questions goes on and on, but our answer is, why are you putting another hurdle in front of someone who has been looking for your services or products.

Get to the point and give them the info, they will appreciate it and use your business!

Have a good weekend

Dave

We are please to announce the launch of a new website for the “Small Job” around the house that everyone has and are looking for tradesmen online to come and work on. The type of jobs that wouldn’t be looked at a year or two ago are now the main bread and butter for many in Trades such as carpenters and plumbers etc.

We have worked with our client Paul on creating a directory style website that he can manage himself in terms of content and ECommerce payment facilities the site incorporates. The site allows tradesmen from all over Ireland insert a small advert for their services in a County or town they wish to apply for. It will also allow for miltiple listings if required.

Tradesmen nagigate to the area they wish to be listed in, they click on “Add Listing” and fill in the form and follow the steps. The site then links them to a payment option and they can get listed virtually immediately. The owner of the site “Paul” then checks their listing for approval.

The site has the following features:

• Search Engine Friendly Directory
• Printer Friendly
• Downloads Fast
• ECommerce facility
• Content Management Software
• Online Advertising Management

Services carried out were

• Domain Management
• Consultancy
• Web Development
• Training
• Web Marketing

Blogging for business . . What does it mean?

This is a common questions these days as we see headlines in the Sunday Business Post “Computers in business” section explaining to us that “Blogs” are old and “Bebo” is the new way forward.

Well basically a blog is a style of website that the owner can update themselves and publish news or events or anything online using their own computer and Internet connection.

Blogs are user friendly.

A Web Log is easy to update and it is a less formal way of communicating to your customers or potential clients. It is still a “website” but just a less formal one. It is primarily used for publishing articles as in news stories and so it therefore lends itself to writing articles or as we call them “posts” to our news website under different categories.

In the blog I “post” stories on different topics as they arise. So if we have new news about how google is changing its algorythm, then I put the news into a category called “Google” and all related news snippets will go in there.

Blogging for Business, means that businesses can write articles about their own chosen fields explaining about the services they offer or the products they sell.

The are many consultants available in Ireland who will explain and teach how to use a blog for business uses and we are one of them! We are looking for comanies who are interested in reaching out to their clients and starting a conversation with them about theur products think a blog might me one way to reach them.

Convert your Admin Staff to your Marketing Staff?

One example I have been saying to customers recently is to use their existing admin staff to create more online content. Give us your staff for two days and we will convert them into “Bloggers” We will teach them how to write a blog, why write something, what to write, when to write it, etc

For more information about Blogging for Business call myself Dave Jordan on 053 9430748

This is a common issues with websites, trying to keep them fresh, you can look at the following

1. Read your website and each page to see if it makes sense to you as , a newbie or as an experienced user looking for information. Do you cater for both
2. Make sure you have good meta tags on every page, the description and keywords match each page.
3. Look at your competitors sites and see if they have something you may have overlooked.
4. Check other search engines to see how you rank try www.google.co.uk and search for your products and services there for example if you cater for the UK market.
5. Are you linked from enough sites, are their suppliers who should have a link to you? Link building is very important, get all of them to link to you.
6. Start a Social Media Networking campaign, Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter etc for your business
7. Get involved in posting articles on forums say on Boards.ie etc

This is just a sample of how you can keep your site and information online about your business fresh for more call Dave Jordan on 053 9430748

Hi Folks,

I am wondering if there is anyone taking a virtual stand at the netexpo online trade show this May 27th and 28th. Starting prices are around the €1,400 for a virtual stand

http://www.searchevent2009.com/

If there are other web developers who have been approached please contact me to let me know what you think

Dave Jordan 053 9430748

Intellectual Property

It was announced today that the new budget will include a new tax relief for capital expenditure spent on the gaining of Intellectual Property. They have given no details yet this this will play a large roll in the Internet and Web Technology.

More details will be in the Finance Bill as soon as it’s released.

I have just got off the phone with a company in wexford providing accommodation and I would like to help others who are in a similar situation about Google Maps and their listing in Google Maps.

If your business is listed in the Mapping facility of Google on Maps.Google.com it could have been put there by a number of sources

• The previous owner of the business.
• A Guest.
• A Tourism Body.

We did some research whilst on the phone to this business and we discoved that they had two listings on Google Maps. Neither of which they had created. They now need the 2 locations pins moved as they are in the wrong location on the maps. The person was under the impression that we had created the location pin as we had created a map for the Wexford County Tourism Board but our map was just a plain Google map that had a search facility built in.

When they inserted their business name into kthe search facility it jumps to http://maps.google.com/ where a full Google search is carried out. It was there we found the 2 wrong location pins. We found the name of the users who created the pins as were able to give these to the person to follow us and ask them to change the location.

Easier Way……

We would suggest that businesses create their own “location Pin” by creating a Google Maps Account Google and then running through the steps involved. It might take about an hour in total as it allows you to insert photo’s, video, links to your website, address, telephone numbers, fax numbers etc

The internet is a complex network of applications and databases that have been opened up to the general public by means of Web 2.0, meaning that the general public can add content to this knowledge base. So as you are adding content to your own website don’t forget that others too are allowed to add inforamtion too.

Sometimes the information others publish is incorrect, so for more inforamtion about Google Mapping and how it can help your business please give me (Dave Jordan) a call on 053-9430748

I hope this helps . . . ?