Why Yoast Isn't Working for You

I'm often asked by clients about Yoast - an SEO plugin for WordPress which allows users to manage their on page SEO by ensuring that the structure of their page is optimised for the chosen keywords. 

These enquiries tend to fall into three categories which I will cover here (and possibly save you some time!) 

My Yoast Is Green - But I'm not ranking for my keyword

There can be several issues here - but the most likely is that your specified keyword is very competitive. We receive a LOT of requests that go along the lines of 'I want to rank on page one of Google for *insert insanely popular search term here*. So here's the truth - ranking on page one for a popular search term is hard. It takes a lot of work over a sustained period of time, and sometimes, you're not going to quite make it - for example - if you tried to take on 'travel reviews' the likelihood is that TripAdvisor is going to beat you to the number one spot. If your keyword is product based you may struggle too - and in these instances, there may be other ways that you can seek to increase your visibility, such as social media marketing strategies or PPC campaigns, or maybe good old-fashioned PR. 

However, what if you are not trying to rank for a super competitive keyword and still no joy? Well, firstly start with ensuring that there are no technical issues that are stopping your website being ranked on Google. There are some great free tools to do this - the best of course, being Google Search Console itself.  

I'm ranking for my keywords but am not getting traffic

Ok, so if you are ranking in the top spot for your keywords, but there is still no traffic being driven to your site, the chances are it's one of two issues. 

1. There is a low search volume for your specified key words. 

If you offer say, a very niche or new service or product - did you check the volume of search before choosing it as your focus? For example - what if you sell say 'premium hot water bottles for hedge-hogs'. Your chosen page is ranking right there at number one for the search term - but where is your traffic? Oh... that's right - no is actually searching for your product! Ok, so am guessing perhaps this isn't your product - though if it is please get in touch - we'd love to hear more, but do seriously ensure that you undertake keyword research before randomly attaching it to a page! 

2. Your 'Snippet' Isn't Great

Google shows snippets of info when it shows your page on the search results - like this (the bit between the yellow lines in the 'snippet'

Now while you can never fully control what appears in your snippet - a good start is to ensure that you have a great meta description written for EVERY page on your website. Think of them as your 'shop window' on the search engine results page. While you may have managed to meet with Yoast's criteria, it still need to read as something that will invite your customer through the 'web door'. So going back to my hedgehog example 'Hedgehog - buy - water bottle - premium, just isn't going to encourage click through! 

If you need help with meta descriptions or page titles - why not take a look at our SEO services. 

Yoast is saying that there is no content when there is! 

Getting a message saying 'Keyword density is at 0%' despite having written loads? This is likely to be due to a conflict with either your theme (some don't support Yoast) or sometimes a plug in conflict. In many builders there will be an option to copy the content to to Yoast but if this isn't the case - you may want to disable this feature. 

In conclusion - Yoast really is a great plug in for Wordpress, but do not rely on it alone for your SEO strategy! 

Small Business Tax Advice

Bewildered by your tax return? Wondering about changes to VAT? Director of Marriott & Kelly Limited - Eva Meszaros is here to talk you through all matters accounts related.  

The end of year tax return deadline is approaching, for those who are filing electronically, it is the 31st of January 2018. The payments on account deadline are the same.

If you are approaching the filing deadline and you don’t have all the information you need to complete the tax return, you can file a provisional tax return to avoid having to pay a penalty. The provisional figures should be clearly identified as such, and it is helpful to provide a reason for the use of the provisional figure and give an approximate time when the final figure is likely to be available. Once the correct figure is available, HRMC should be notified without delay.

Apart from giving a compulsory report on the business, it is also a good opportunity to take a look at how the business is performing and compare it to the previous years’ reports and to the targets we have set for ourselves.

Small businesses may be liable to reduce their tax liabilities through tax reliefs, such as charitable donations.

Losses need to be recognised as well because they can also reduce the tax liability.

Don’t leave submitting your return to the last minute, and once the tax return is complete, make sure you actually submit it.

As per the policy paper published by HRMC, the VAT threshold is remaining at £85,000 for 2 more years from 1 April 2018. The taxable turnover threshold which determines whether a person may apply for deregistration will remain at £83,000.

It is the highest threshold in the EU, keeps over 3 million businesses out of VAT, but it also distorts competition between businesses which have to charge VAT and those who don’t. The government is looking to consult on the design of the VAT threshold during the two year period ending in March 2020.

There will be some changes coming from April 2018 with a new system: Making Tax Digital for Business system. Businesses, self-employed and landlords will require to start using the new digital service from April 2018 for income tax and National Insurance contributions purposes if their turnover is over the VAT threshold. Those, who are below the threshold will be required to use it from April 2019. From April 2019 we will be required to use it for VAT purposes and from April 2020 for Corporation Tax purposes.

Businesses, self-employed people and landlords with turnovers under £10,000 per year will be exempt.

The reforms are anticipated to take out around 10% of error on an ongoing basis, and give businesses a clearer view of their tax position in year , enabling them to plan to meet their tax obligations at minimum cost and minimum disruption.

Tapping the positive energy of innovators

Mat Hunter, Director of Central Research Laboratory and Accelerator Programme shares his thoughts on innovation within the tech industry - and how start-ups can benefit from incubator and accelerator programmes. 

With the Office for Budget Responsibility predicting gloomier than ever growth forecasts over the next 5 years, the UK’s productivity problem unresolved and the WTO-rules ‘no-deal’ Brexit trading environment under serious consideration, you would wonder whether even an optimist could find something positive to say about business prospects.

Well, I’ll have a go: the good news is that the UK is a more positive environment for technology-led startups than ever before and the sheer energy, ingenuity, enthusiasm and determination of startups can benefit us all.

The term ‘startup’ is typically applied to young, innovative firms with growth ambition, often operating under conditions of significant uncertainty such as an unproven technology or a new business model. It’s this growth and the promise of tech-enabled productivity that the country needs. But as this definition highlights, startups are surrounded by significant uncertainty in their early years. They really do require a very different leadership style and approach to risk from other small businesses and it is support for this practice that is increasingly available.

The government’s excellent 2017 ‘Business Incubators and Accelerators: The National Picture’ research paper surveyed the UK landscape and found that there were roughly 400 incubators and accelerators active, supporting roughly 3500 new businesses per year. Both accelerators and incubators aim to support young firms through the early and fragile stages of growth - in theory, helping them avoid the mistakes of others, saving time and money and increasing survival rates.

Many incubators and accelerators focus on a specific area of innovation, from Financial Technology or ‘FinTech’ to Cyber-security and Artificial Intelligence. At the Central Research Laboratory (CRL), based in west London, we are proud to support what we term ‘hardware’. By that we mean tech-led businesses that involve a physical, manufactured component. With digital technology becoming ever more ubiquitous, it needs to be embedded in the world around us. Software remains the most potent force for change, but without the ability to give it physical form – hardware – we believe the UK will not remain Europe’s leading tech startup hub.

But the fact that the CRL exists suggests that there is a problem to be overcome: the lack of manufacturing knowledge in the UK. Yes, we remain the 8th biggest manufacturer in the world, with a resurgent automotive industry, world-class pharmaceuticals and more, but the knowledge with which to make electronic products is actually very scarce for startups.

The good news is that we can access this knowledge from elsewhere. I write this from Shenzhen, China’s premier manufacturing city of 12 million people, which boasts the most sophisticated consumer electronics manufacturing in the world. This week we are taking 8 ventures to meet with manufacturers and intermediaries so that they can build the partnerships required. Every time we bring entrepreneurs to Shenzhen they are struck by how welcoming Chinese manufacturers are. The manufacturers recognise the creative talent of our UK-based entrepreneurs and, while supporting small and fragile businesses is always difficult commercially, they recognise the longer-term potential and value. As we head towards the end of our week here, every one of our startup founders leaves with renewed energy and positivity around their business and how they will make it real.

But that’s not the end of my good news story. On our return, we will reintegrate with a wider community of designers, engineers, entrepreneurs and others: the Central Research Laboratory is developing a model where co-working and startup incubation are supported under the same roof – we are home to consultancies, as much as product startups. All of the knowledge, connections and of course the renewed sense of energy will be shared widely, as though we were all part of the same company – even though we are not.

For me, that is a powerful enabler of change. If the world around us becomes ever fast-moving, complex, challenging and even fear-inducing then what we need is to surround ourselves with capable and energetic people. And if you can’t hire them, just sit next to them. We believe that more small businesses will start to recognise the power of this sort of informal collaborative practice, give up their existing single offices and re-locate to innovation hubs such as ours.

If it is true that some people are fountains and others are drains, then my advice in these parched times is go sit next to a fountain.

Using LinkedIn for Small Business Owners 2017

Should I use LinkedIn for My Business? 

When considering whether you use LinkedIn for your business there are two main areas to consider. Firstly what outcome are you looking to get from using LinkedIn? Obviously for B2B companies - using LinkedIn as a tool for your business should be given. 

But what about consumer-facing businesses? While a LinkedIn business page is unlikely to sell say women's' clothing - it's still a way of promoting your brand and your values. And, as we know, here in 2017 - consumers want to know about brand values. 

There is also another consideration for small business owners who have companies who deal directly with customers - building trust in your personal brand  If, as a business owner you are getting involved with conversations on LinkedIn about areas such as finance, news in your industry, or dare I say it, even politics, you are showing your potential audience, future business partners and suppliers what you are all about. 

That's not to say that you should put your main focus on LinkedIn if it's not where your buyers 'hang out' but do consider your reputation, and the benefits that a professional profile can bring to you. 

Should I set up a LinkedIn Business Page or Use my Personal Page for my small business? 

So you've decided to take the plunge and look at LinkedIn as a way of promoting your business. How should you proceed? Do you need a LinkedIn business page - or should you go about personally building your audience via your personal page? 

The answer, as with most social media decisions is - it depends! I would always suggest that you build your personal profile if you have a small business with few employees, before you build a page. The reason being that LinkedIn business pages can be tricky to promote on your own. It takes a good amount of work, and you need to be able to leverage your contacts to get followers to the page. 

How Can I get More Followers to My LinkedIn Business Page? 

Unlike Facebook - there are no direct ways to invite personal connections to your business page. So you need to put the work both inside and outside of the LinkedIn platform. As with all social media plans - start with your content strategy - if there's nothing interesting being posted on your LinkedIn business page - then there is not much to attract someone to like it! Post interesting and engaging articles - these can be shared from your website or from a LinkedIn Pulse post which you have personally posted. Get your employees, if you have any, involved. They can help to share your content and spread the word about your business page. If you have genuine contacts who use your business, send them a message to let them know about your page. Engage in LinkedIn groups as an individual, and signpost relevant content on your page. 

Outside of the platform itself - you should always ensure that your LinkedIn business page is linked from your website and on other social media platforms. Add your page to your email signature. There are many ways to gain traction on LinkedIn, but many misunderstand business pages and how they can be leveraged. If you're struggling with your business page - do get in touch with our marketing experts to see how we can help. 

How Can I update my Company LinkedIn Page from my mobile App? 

I have added this, as it's a personal gripe of mine that the LinkedIn app does not let you manage your company page! Wise up LinkedIn - we are all using mobile - so c'mon and update this feature! 

What makes a good social media manager?

I speak to a lot of my clients about social media. Should they be on it, what platform, how often should they post, and the answer is always the same - let's take a look at your audience first. 

However, I've recently seen an absolute deluge of 'social media managers' who, while I am sure are great at building random followings, posting very pretty pictures on Instagram and making great graphics, don't see the full picture - you don't necessarily need twenty thousand followers (unless of course, you're in the market for some influencer freebies), but you would rather like one thousand buyers! 

So what should you look out for in a social media expert to boost sales, visits or awareness?

A good social media manager will start with what you want to achieve

Social media management is all about planning and goals. Are you looking to increase your brand awareness, or perhaps you are looking to use social as a platform to interact with existing customers? A good social media manager will talk through what your goals are, who you want to reach out to, and what the purpose of the campaign is. 

Setting out realistic and achievable goals at the outset is the only way you can really test your social agency. Yes things can change, goalposts may have to move, but unless you have made some agreement on what you are looking to achieve, you are not going to get a good return on your investment. 

A Bad Social Media Manager Will Suggest Too Much too soon

Have you ever had those social media proposals that sound like this - we will post 10 times a day to Facebook, add 100 new positive reviews, and add at least 200 likes to your pages in a week? Well, as exciting as that sounds, it's not good practice. These type of offers use bad automation techniques, purchase of Facebook reviews and likes. Do you really think that Facebook users won't notice that most of your positive reviews are badly written and come from somewhere outside of your location? They will, and social media (and branding in general), is all about trust.

Also, posting too often on any platform (though particularly Facebook and LinkedIn is a sure-fire way to reduce your reach; Facebook won't show your posts in people's feeds, and people will start to hide you too. It's a bit like expecting to stand somewhere shouting randomly about your product and expect people to say 'Oh how interesting, tell me more''. A good social media planner will help to manage organic growth and push out content that is quality over quantity. 

The amount of time that a post has an impact for varies by platform - take a look at this infographic.

While this doesn't mean that you should be posting on Twitter every 18 minutes, it does give you an insight into the different requirements of different platforms. Ask your social media manager what and most importantly where they intend to post! Which leads me to..

The best social media manager will ask about your full marketing plan

Your social media strategy must fit with your entire marketing plan. It's a huge red flag if your social media manger is not asking what else you are doing outside of your social plan. For example, are you attending an event - what are the hashtags? Are you running a TV or magazine advertising campaign? If so, you should be shaping your posting strategy to fit with this. Even on a more basic level, your social media agency should understand your buyer pattern behaviour such as seasonal trends in buying, or a particular product or service that is popular or less so. 

Any social media manager worth their salt should be asking these questions the very first time you meet, and consistently thereafter. 

A Bad social media manager Will only measure 'vanity metrics' 

Ok let's talk 'vanity metrics'. I'm not going to lie - I too have jumped up and down when my Twitter account reached the first 500 followers. I also do get a bit excited when my impression count goes way up. However, the reality is that, those numbers, well to a degree, they don't mean diddly squat! But why you ask! Well, if those followers/page likers whatevers are not actually engaging with your content, then all it really means is that your social media agency know how to follow in large numbers and use a trending hashtag. Engagement is the key - not numbers.

So what are the metrics you should be on the lookout for.

These are the engagement metrics. You want your social media following to be actively engaging with your content. 

If your social media manager is fobbing you off with 'followers and impressions' make sure to ask about the nitty gritty of engagement! 

A Good social media manager will look beyond your page

There are so many ways to engage with your followers that go way beyond just making a business page, posting lots, and hoping for the best! 

A good social media manager will suggest other options to really get involved with your community and potential clients. 

Both Facebook and LinkedIn have a multitude of specialist groups that you can get involved in. For example, if you sell pet products, why not offer advice in a Facebook pet group. The aim here is not to hard sell, but to offer advice and support to people who are looking for your exact set of skills. 

LinkedIn is one of the best forums for B2B - show off your skills! For example, if you run an accountancy consultancy, you have a plethora of groups you can get involved in. Offer your advice to business owners and individuals struggling to understand the complexities of filing tax returns (het hem - not me honest!)

Twitter has some great networking opportunities, particularly for local businesses. Get involved in #Bizhours to chat and offer your services. 

There are so many additional ideas other than just posting that can really help you to engage your customers, and if your social media manager isn't offering this, you should ask yourself why not! 

The Best Social media manager will feel like part of your team

This should hold true for anyone providing you an outsourced service. If your social media manager doesn't feel like an extended version of your team, they are not right for you! 

When you are engaging the services of a social media agency, you must remember that they are going to be your 'voice' to the masses. If your social account manager doesn't seem to understand your product or service, or for that matter, you as a person, move on! 

Also (and yes this does happen), if you don't gel personality-wise, bear in mind that you are going to have a fairly close working relationship with this person. If they are rude, dismissive or any of these things, or talk jargon at you in an attempt to dazzle you into following their ideas rather than yours, think carefully. 

The rule of thumb is to decide whether you would employ them directly. If the answer is no, even if then carry on looking! 

If you are looking for some help with your social media marketing, get in touch for a no obligation chat! 

Non Buyer Personas

What is a buyer persona?

Everyone who's anyone should know about buyer personas by now - your buyer persona is a profile of your target audience, using research to understand who they are, what their buying pattern is, where they 'hang out' and their consumption habits are.

But what about those efforts that you are putting into driving irrelevant enquiries to your door?

While there is always value in making a larger audience aware of your brand, and of course notable SEO benefits of increasing website traffic, there is little value in putting paid efforts into reaching out to the wrong audience. 

By paid effort, we are not just talking about things like advertising budgets, and Adwords spend - if you are hashtagging like there's no tomorrow on Instagram, but getting the wrong followers - the time wasted will have a real impact on your bottom line. 

how do you identify your 'non buyer personas'? 

Well, assuming that you have some sort of CRM system (even if it's just an excel sheet of your contacts), start looking at the leads that went nowhere, put them into a list. You should be recording the reason that a deal did not close too - even if it's 'went away' (they did the business equivalent of ghosting you). 

Now take a look at the profile of this list - is there a common theme - for example, no budget, went with a competitor, wasn't the decision maker, or wasn't ready to purchase? 

Group these into those themes. Chose which theme is important to you - for example, those who are not decision makers may be worth contacting to find out who actually is, and start to target them instead. 

Boil this down until you reach the groups that are really of no value to your business- this may be those without a budget, or it may be those who just disappear. 

Now you need to look at the demographics and profiles of the names that you are left within these lists. There are several tools which you can use to do this - from looking at your enquiry data within Google Analytics to paying a data company or using a tool like Patrion 360, however, these options can be expensive. The best thing is to capture as much data as you can at the point of enquiry! 

So you now know the personas that or not of value to your business - how do you determine where they are coming from (and is it one of your paid channels?). 

Google Adwords and Buyer Personas

If you use Google Adwords, you will know that the costs soon add up - and if your campaign is not working for you, you are literally chucking money down the drain! Take a look at your search queries - are there some that are irrelevant? If so - make sure to add them to your excluded list! 

Check the keywords you are bidding on - are they really relevant to your product or service? If you're just going for optimum clicks, but no conversions, you are wasting your precious budget!

Social Media and Buyer Personas

This is a common issue - everyone who's anyone is excited about using social media to promote their product or service, and, done right it's a major way of reaching out and engaging with your target audience. However, again this is one where you really need to be aware of putting the effort into the right channels. Use your actual buyer personas to work out where you audience are, and focus on those channels. Instagram is all well and good, but if your target demographic is 50 year old insurance brokers, it may be a timely exercise to put your efforts into! 

The key to marketing your business is to make sure that you are putting the right effort in - don't waste time and effort on people that are just not going to convert to custom. That's not to say that you shouldn't experiment, but with a concentrated, researched effort, you can make that spend go much further!  

How Does Google Rank Your Website?

Your website is all set up, you are selling a great product or service, and creating great content on your site, it looks super cool, but for some reason, your site just isn’t appearing in the search engine results! What are you going to do?

How Does Google Rank Your Website?

In terms of ranking, where you appear on Google for search engine page results (SERPs) can make or break the number of people who will even know that your site exists. Pretty terrifying right?

So, how can you ensure that you are ranking highly for the searches that are relevant to your industry or niche?

What you have to understand is that you are basically dealing with robots! No human being at Google goes near the algorothims that determine your page ranking in the SERPS – it’s all done by bots, which ‘crawl’ the web (yes think spiders), and use machine learning to become experts in topics.

There are many improvements that you can make to your website to assist you to start appearing at the top of those SERPs when a potential buyer or client searches for keywords relevant to your industry.

Using Off Page SEO to increase the ranking of your site in Google

But right now, I wanted to talk to you about what you can be doing away from your own website, (known as off page SEO), to maximise peoples trust both in you, and your site.

With trust now the number one factor that clients consider when using a product or service, it’s more important than ever to ensure that your business is leading the way in promoting itself as an authority within your industry on niche.

And trust is diminishing. With trust in editorial almost in crisis, it is more important than ever to be creating content that is valuable to your audience.

As this research from Edelman shows, consumers are turning to both who they consider experts, and people just like them to offer credible information and advice.

 Having a great looking website, or perfectly formed offer is not enough. People (and Google) have to know and understand that you are a trustworthy provider of content relating to your topic.

Building Links to Improve Google Ranking

Google bots crawl the web using links to determine how pages relate to one other. Using sophisticated algorithms, Google uses links to understand not only the popularity of your page, but also the popularity, and trust of any sites linking to it.

Think of links as ‘the company you keep’ If you are associated with a popular, likeable person with integrity, other people will assume that you have the same values, whereas, if you run with the bad crowd, even if you yourself are an upstanding citizen, you will still get a reputation as a baddy.

For example, if you have a backlink from Wikipedia - a site which is well used, trustworthy and popular, Google will apportion trust in your domain when seeing that link. Conversely if you have links coming from a low content, irrelevant site, Google may penalise you for this, in fact, if you have a high number of links coming from questionable websites, you can incur a penalty that will stop your website from showing up in the SERPs at all!

Links from other websites to your site (backlinks) are one of the strongest signals that Google uses to determine how to rank you in the SERPs. Your site will be judged not only by the number of backlinks you have, but by the quality of those links – are they coming from sites that are relevant and trustworthy?

Going back to the real world for a moment, who would you most trust to explain how the universe works – Stephen Hawkins or your next door neighbour?

As humans, we tend to rely on authorities to guide us in certain subjects, and Google understands this, and therefore will lend more weight to an authority site or person linking to your website – so Google also trust Stephen Hawkins more than your next door neighbour!

Want to learn more about building good quality links back to your site?  Read our small business blogs, or get in touch – we can help!

Top Tips From Real Business Owners

As Oscar Wilde once said 'The only thing to do with good advice is to pass it on'' While there may be more to that quote, I like to leave it just there, and on that vein, who better to give you business advice than those who have been there?

So on that note, I spoke to a variety of business owners in the UK and beyond to get their top tips on how to get your business off the ground and tell us the one piece of advice that they wish they had known. 

Rebecca De Jager, founder of bespoke gift service www.hugosworkshop.co.uk says

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Rebecca's started Hugos Workshop to offer high quality gifts

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Ben Maddock, Director of Aim for the Sky an events company that provide unique
team building activities and country sports for corporate events, family parties and stag
and hen dos.

'Be patient, it doesn’t all happen overnight. It takes a time to grow a successful business and for the first few months/years you may need to reinvest your profits to further grow your business. However, it’s worth noting that when you have to work long days it’s good to know that everything you’re doing is helping to build your own business. It definitely'gives you that extra drive and determination when things are tough.'

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Burstimo is paving the way for new artists to gain maximum exposure on Spotify

Edward Relf, CEO of Laundrapp

'One of the most important decisions that you’ll have as an entrepreneur is hiring staff. It is better to not hire at all than to hire an individual just to put a bum on a seat. Doubling in size doesn’t mean you’re doubling in speed as the fastest decisions can often be made by one person on their own. Ensure that you hire the best of the bunch – ‘A-Players’ that hire top talent, not B-Players that want to hire C-Players. As a business leader, it’s important that you build a well-rounded team and most importantly recognise your weaknesses and hire to mitigate them. So, if you’re the smartest person in the room, get the hell out as fast as you can! '

Ariana of Sweat and Sound, an experiential exercise event company

'JUST DO IT. The more you think and plan and strategise the less natural and perfectly imperfect your entry into the market will be. People love seeing new products & services, and people also know that brand new startups are always a work in progress. The key is to show customers an intense passion for what you do. People will buy in and love you not because you have the perfect strategy and everything has been planned to a T, but because the business has SOUL & is a constantly evolving entity - basically, it has to come from the heart!'

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''The internet is your friend! There are so many free resources out there with advice on running a business. There are blogs, podcasts, you tube videos. You can learn just about anything you need to if you just look in the right places.

I am currently obsessed with Janet Murray’s Soulful PR Podcast, it’s full of amazing advice on how to get PR for your business and also covers other topics such as social media marketing and blogging.''

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Aim for the Sky offer unique team building events

Alex Nathaniel owner of Burstimo.com

'Don't keep your business a secret, no matter what the business is you won't be the first person to think of it and most people have too much on their hands to steal your idea. Tell everyone about it who wants to know, but I emphasise the point who wants to know. You can fall in to the trap of receiving gratification for saying "I'm starting a business" then you feel rewarded for being acknowledged for doing it. Then you actually lose motivation there after, as you're already feeling good about yourself. So, keep the business low key to friends and family, always play it down if asked. But with those who are in the industry you should be reaching out, it's amazing the advice, suggestions and support you will be offered.'

Laundrapp is a revolutionising the dry cleaning industry

Sanjay Aggarwal, Founder, Spice Kitchen - Handmade Spices and Teas

'Launch your product or service quickly, almost as a pilot or as a beta for a tech product. This means from the outset you can gain valuable feedback that can help you improve. In the words of LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, "If you're not embarrassed by your first product release, you've released too late". From experience, I have procrastinated and sat on great ideas for lots of time before launching them, and when they took off I always wish I had done it sooner. Sometimes this has been due to fear and feeling there was too much competition in the market, but later I have realised competition means there is a market for that business, and I develop an idea into a business that will outperform or differentiate.'

Amazing events to keep fit and have fun! 

Rhea Freeman, of Freeman PR an creator of popular Facebook Group Small & Supercharged

Everyone starts at zero- zero followers,zero subscribers, zero customers. Don't be disheartened. EVERYONE starts at this point! Make use of Facebook groups such as Small & Supercharged! This supports SMEs and can be invaluable if you work alone as there are people to talk to and bounce ideas off.

So these business owners from start ups to SMEs have already been there and done that - and you can learn a lot from them! What tips would you give to someone just thinking about starting a company or venture? Get in touch and let us know! 

If Your Business Content Isn't Relevant - You Basically Have a Hobby

Remember when you were a teenager and had a diary, basically just jotting down the random thoughts that came into your head mixed in the minutiae of your day? Perhaps you get irrationally annoyed at Facebook friends who consistently update every single aspect of their life?

THEN WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS ON YOUR BLOG!!

I'll admit, this post is particularly ironic, as I'm going to advise you not to write the first thing that pops into your head, however this post was inspired by a particularly difficult conversation with a potential client, and I couldn't wait to get the words down! As a provider of content writing services, we are often asked to take a look at our clients articles and copy to ascertain why it's not working too well. 

Speak to any marketing agency, and probably the first thing they are going to ask is whether you have a place on your site for updating exciting new content - be blog page or newsfeed. And they are correct - relevant, interesting content that is both valuable to your audience and relevant to your industry or niche is one of the most powerful tools that you have in your marketing toolkit. 

But note - I used the word relevant twice in paragraph (damn I've even used it again!) And this is the key... All too often individuals are either writing about a totally off the wall topic for their website or trying to shoe-horn in news or subjects that, while are perhaps trending in the wider world, bear no relation to the product or service which they provide! 

They then wonder why either their blog is getting no traffic, or they are getting a load of traffic, but nothing is converting... Here's why... 

The 'Let's get something to go viral' effect

This is where you've created a top notch piece of interesting content, it's current, it's popular, funny, and bound to be shared everywhere... You've cracked it! You've made viral campaign - Woo! Well done you! But - hold on, while your stunning video of hippos dancing on tables is being shared once every minute - your sales haven't seen even a slight increase, and your website has no visitors - what's gone wrong? I'll tell you what's gone wrong - you didn't reach a relevant audience and you drove the audience you did reach straight to Youtube where you posted the video... ''But we had our logo and a link to our site at the end'' You cry! Well within five minutes, someone had cut that bit out and repackaged your video - and those that did see instantly forgot because 'dancing hippos' right? 

The point is - getting something to spread like wildfire on the internet is a dream goal - and yes incredibly useful in raising awareness of you, your business or your cause - but it needs to be relevant and have a clear call to action - or, very rarely you can get away with one of those things - the Ice Bucket Challenge probably wouldn't tick the box as relevant, but as people posted their videos, there was a clear call to action (spread by posters themselves) to donate. 

The 'Me Myself and I' Blog

This is where I feel a teeny bit uncomfortable, but I'm just going to come right out and say it... A little bit about you is good - people do want to get to know the person behind the brand, and understand if your values align with theirs... However, this can tip into what amounts to an online diary - great if your blog is basically 'My online diary', but not so great if your say, the CEO of a construction company. From the CEO, I may want to know what he thinks of changes to legislation in the industry, perhaps a tale of his 'back to the floor' experience working on a building site, or maybe just once, a little profile that even mentions what he does to relax and his favourite type of music (am betting on grime). 

What, in all honestly I don't want to read is a day by day explanation of his life in the office, in 200 word posts that read 'Had an exciting meeting, more coming in the next blog, had cornflakes for breakfast'. 

The other trap I've seen in house marketers fall into is writing on a topic that may be really interesting... to them! I have genuinely seen articles about gaming - on an accountancy site - a great piece, interesting, informative, and relevant - to gamers... Possibly not so much for someone who was seeking advice about their tax return. 

Do your research

The name of the game here is to check what your potential clients or users are going to be interested in - what do they want to know about you, what are their needs, and what are they looking for - then create your content around that. One of the first things I talk about is buyer personas - start from there and work your way to the content. 

Be current, be daring, but don't do it for it's own sake - make sure your content is for your audience, not for you! 

There are so many tools you can use to research what your potential audience is looking for - I talk about a lot of them! Use them! And, please... for the love of God... understand that -if your content isn't driving traffic, building trust, giving relevant information - you have a hobby - not a valuable addition to your marketing toolkit! 

How to Build Your Personal Brand

Business owners have it pretty hard sometimes, particularly when you are in the early stages of starting your company - you wear so many hats - sales director, HR manager, accountant, and marketing department! This tends to take up most of your time and energy, and you can end up so focused on getting your brand off of the ground, that it's easy to overlook one of the main things that make your company unique - YOU! 

Richard Branson, Mark Zuckerberg, even Vivienne Westwood - all very different, but all encapsulate their brands... And don't even get me started on Elon Musk (he's a whole other blog post). 

Making yourself a cornerstone of your company brand is a great strategy to build trust with your clients, and really let the world know what you are all about. 

So here are five tips to get yourself out there, and start making sure that you are synonymous with your brand. 

1. Be a visible face of your company

If you're just a name on your company website or a line on the registration documents - you need to rethink! If you want to be associated with your brand, your customers need to know who you are, and, dare I say, what you look like! Have an 'About Us' page on your website? Make sure there's a nice biography explaining why you decided to build the business, and what you are all about. Trust is now the most important element of the purchase decision process, and how will anyone trust you if they don't know who you are. 

2. Engage on Social Media

Think of social media as an extension of your natural networking - and a great chance to directly interact with your existing and potential clients. While it can seem daunting if you're not a regular social media user (though research shows that 66% of the UK have a social media profile)  Think about where your potential clients, competitors, and contact are hanging out on social media... If you're a B2B service, chances are LinkedIn will be beneficial - here the posting tone is more businesslike, so if that's where your comfort zone is - start there. More of a visual person - what about Instagram - try posting images of you going about what you do best! Despite  the character limit, Twitter is one of the best platforms to reach people interested in you! Keep your social posts relevant, current and in your tone. And talking of tone, do try and keep it real - am sure we can all think of one Twitter poster who's tweets you could recognise with no need for explanation.... and if you can't guess who I mean then I'm afraid 'You're a LOSER... Sad'.

3. Get guest posting

You know a lot about both your industry and, as a business owner, you should know a fair bit about business in general - so start sharing your expertise on a larger platform. All industries have their own publications, forums, blogs etc, get talking to them about what you can offer in terms of sharing your wisdom. From an SEO perspective, guest posting can be a great way to increase your site's ranking, but beyond that, it's a great way to talk to people who are already interested in what you have to say. 

4. Find Public Speaking Opportunities 

Ok, Ok, I hear you! For some, this sounds terrifying - according to some surveys, people fear public speaking more than death but it's not all massive stages looking out into the bright lights of an intimidating audience. Seek out places to speak that suit both your company aims, but also your own style. Take a look at what events are going on in your industry that you can get involved in. What about hosting your own small workshop, or mentoring group. Really can't face a live audience? Think about webinars and video - how can you get your voice heard? 

5. Be Yourself

With all of the above, one thing to note is that it's important to be authentic. Don't try to wear the cloak of a public persona that doesn't suit you - it will come across as false, and will lose the trust of your following. Not every great leader associated with a brand is known as cuddly and friendly (Steve Jobs anyone)? The main thing is that you get across the passion for your business, and if you don't have that - why on earth are doing it? 

If you want help with any of the above, or just want a chat, do get in touch, we are happy to have a no obligation talk about what marketing can do for your business

Should I Use People Per Hour?

As a small business owner, you can often find that little niggly jobs take up more time than they should, or that certain skill sets are beyond your reach, such as setting up a website or designing an eye catching logo.  Increasingly companies both large and small are turning to outsourcing to take care of areas such as social media management, diary management, website tweaks and all manner of projects. 

But, if you own a small business with limited financial resources, large agencies may be well outside of your budget, and won't necessarily deliver the return on investment (or time) that you are hoping for, and that's where freelance websites, such as PeoplePerHour, or Upwork have really grown in prominence. 

With people offering to do work from as low as £6 per hour it can seem an ideal way to source someone to take care of those jobs that you either don't want to, or cannot do yourself, but, what is it really like outsourcing to a freelancer? Will the quality of the work be good enough? What are the risks? 

The Small Biz Expert spoke to some business owners to find out, and address the typical concerns of anyone looking to hire freelancers online. 

Working with overseas freelancers

With rising wages for knowledge and technical workers in the UK, Central Europe and the USA, it can seem like a 'no-brainer' to turn to areas where these skills are in supply for a much cheaper price. But are issues such as the language and time barriers something that you can manage?  

Athina Bluff of Topology London,  a virtual design and interior company,  prefers to use UK suppliers. She says 'I started off using people overseas as it’s cheaper, but soon realised that the language barrier when you’re trying to explain some jobs is a real hindrance in getting the job done efficiently and quickly. I’ve now just started sticking to people in the UK and it makes things a lot easier.' 

However, it may very well depend on the type of work you require. 

For example Jack Oughton, who runs copywriting agency Demysticism.co  states, 'I use suppliers overseas as my needs are purely technical (namely site development and a little design work). This is the kind of work that doesn't require native English, consequentially can work out to be cheaper.'

Louisa, founder of Trendlistr, online marketplace for curated vintage clothing and accessories  agrees, 'I have had several good experiences with People Per Hour. The system is very secure and the review system means that few 'incompetent' freelancers slip through the net. The developers I hired (and I worked with several) were generally all skilled with an understanding of what needed to be done in spite of certain language barriers'

However, if you are looking for say, product descriptions, or a well written blog piece, you may want to use someone who speaks English as their first language - colloquialisms do not translate well!

Also, take into account time differences - when and how often are you going to need to speak to your supplier. Are you happy briefing over Skype or are you more interested in seeing 'the whites of their eyes'? 

Louisa, the founder of Trendlistr suggests using freelancers who are familiar with your industry and software. 

You get what you pay for! 

You know the old saying, 'If something seems too good to be true then it probably is?' That definitely still applies when hiring freelancers!

As Athina's experience shows 'I hired someone from India to load some  products on my website for cheap and, despite my instructions, they uploaded them all wrong. I went a whole day having lots of products, prices and information incorrectly listed on my site which was quite stressful as, despite having paid money for his service to upload them (to save me time), I had to rectify all the errors myself which took quite some time. Never again!'

Louisa says 'I used people who were overseas, but with fair wages. There were developers on the website who were charging less than minimum wage for their time, and this didn't sit well with me, so I paid what I would call a fair but still very reasonable rate of 30 USD per hour. The system is very secure and the review system means that few 'incompetent' freelancers slip through the net. The developers I hired (and I worked with several) were generally all skilled with an understanding of what needed to be done in spite of certain language barriers'

Using freelancers is all about the brief! 

Jack Oughton says, 'Like anything in life, give a clear, well defined brief with what you want the freelancer to do and when you want it done. A lot of issues come from ambiguity in the brief. As a guy who has received various value briefs myself, I try to put myself into the head of who I am sending it to. I guess as a communications professional, if I can’t communicate very clearly I am not doing my job very well!' 

Louisa agrees 'The bad experiences I had were more down to my own knowledge gaps than theirs. Because hiring overseas means that there are certain communication issues at times (for example, the aforementioned language barrier), my lack of technical understanding quickly caught up with me. I would recommend for anyone considering using a site like People Per Hour or Upwork that they have a clear technical spec created for them in advance of hiring freelancers, to ensure that what is expected of both parties is clear from the offset.'

As Jack says 'If you’ve ever done any project management, or are used to briefing and commissioning people, it’s not too different from that really - you just have to use the site’s interface to do it, instead of your mail client. I guess you could brief people by phonemail but all the project milestones (i.e points at which things are deliverable and that you release funds) are usually handled by the freelance site.' 

It's all about the brief, about the brief, no treble! 

Would business owners reccomend using freelance sites? 

It seems that, with a little caution, and a proper brief, the overwhelming answer is yes! 

When asked if she would use People per Hour again, Athina enthuses  'Yes! I use people per hour a lot - probably a few times a month. I like the fact that I can have a quick fix on my website done within the hour for a tenner - it’s really handy. I always ensure the person gives me instructions to on how to rectify the issue in the future as well. It's definitely worth a try if you're a small business owner!'

Louisa is just as keen, 'I would use People Per Hour again and I would even trust its freelancers with the inner workings of my website. I would emphasise that anyone looking to use this type of site solidifies their technical knowledge first, so that they are better able to make use of the hours paid for and communicate in a way that is clear, efficient and ideal for all parties to understand. Make the most use of people's portfolios and make sure they have a few examples of work that they can show you to demonstrate their ability. Finally, resist the urge to pay the rock bottom prices for coders overseas - as I soon found out, paying a mid range cost gave me extremely talented freelancers at a rate that couldn't be beaten in my home country, but with a solid portfolio of past work and strong English language skills that saved me a lot of hassle in the long run!'

So, in summary, should you use freelancers to assist you with your business and it's needs. It seems that, if you do your homework, expect to pay a fair price, and are prepared to put work into your brief, the overwhelming feedback is YES! 

With thanks to our contributors (and small biz heroes!) 

Louisa Gertrude is the founder of Trendlistr.com an online marketplace for curated vintage clothing. Check out Trendlistr for some of the most unique and stylish vintage clothes and accessories!

Athina Bluff is the founder of Topology Interiors, a virtual interior design business and interiors blog. Take a look at Topology interiors for your home style inspiration. 

Jack Oughton is a creative person from Croydon. As a writer / journalist, he’s contributed to the likes of The Guardian, FHM and Londonist, and now runs a copywriting consultancy called Demysticism.co .

Don't forget before you look to a freelance site - why not get in touch! I'm UK based and can offer advice on a range of subjects to get your business up and running! I can even give you help with briefing overseas freelancers! 

How To Set up Google My Business For a Building Company

Builders, plumbers, gas engineers, electricians - there is a simple way to improve your Google visibility, it's free and will take you all of five minutes! 

You don't need to have a website, and you don't need to pay any money. The one thing you will need is a Google account - so if you don't have one, just quickly set one up! Will help with that later on. 

So what's the secret - it is of course - Google My Business. If you're already using it, that's fantastic, but be sure to check all of your details are correct, and up to date, no one is going to be calling if you're old phone number is on there. Or, if you have a new website - make sure it's listed! Also, read on to see how reviews and opening hours affect how people will interact with your listing. 

Now, you may ask why Google My Business is such a winner? Let me demonstrate... 

Say I am looking for a builder to help me with my kitchen extension (I wish!!) The first thing I am likely to do is to search 'Builders in SE3' or perhaps 'Builders near me'. Let's see what happens... 

Ok, so you see that the first three listings are adverts - these are the big guys, you won't be able to compete on their spend, and you would be crazy to try!

However, the good news is, people are increasingly wise to what is an 'Ad' on Google, and skip straight to the next listings.... So shall we take a look? 

Now that's more like it! I can see where the builders are, whether they have website, are they open, and also reviews. 

Now, with the one's above (and if you happen to be any of them - get in touch - I've got some  help for you!), I think number 1 is OK, but there's no website where I can take a look at their previous extensions, so will maybe come back to them. 

Number 3 does have a website, but is closed today, and has 3/5 star  reviews, so not too sure (though I would take a look at the reviews and then decide, but that's for another blog) 

So let's put number 2 on my shortlist. 

However, what I really wanted was to get around 3 quotes so maybe I'll try the 'More Places' button. 

Now I have a great range of builders to choose from, and if you notice at the top, I can sort by reviews or opening hours! That's why it's vital, once set up, to keep your listing up to date! 

Again the top two are sponsored (adverts), and you could benefit from placing something like this - contact me for help in this area but none the less, even without a sponsored listng, you will now be visible to so many more potential customers who are looking for a builder/electrician/plumber/gas engineer, or to be honest, whatever your business does!

One thing to really note - take a look at the map to the left. I can't quite believe that there are only around 8 builders around my part of South East London - can you? That means that sooooo many of you are no listed, and by not being listed, you are really missing out an essential element of marketing your business. 

So, I hopefully have demonstrated why you really need to add your listing, now I will show you how - it's easier than changing a light bulb! 

How to set up a Google My Business Account

Firstly, you are going to need a Google account just a simple Gmail address will mean you have one, but don't worry if you don't, will take five minutes...

Just go to Google, and well, 'Google - Gmail. You will then be taken to this page - then just create account (circled in red below) 

All done? Great! Don't worry the email address will have nothing to do with the listing - so if you're still using your first ever email address that happened to be  'sexybum@gmail.com' it doesn't matter, it won't show up on your listing!

Make sure you stayed signed in (you should be using Google Chrome to do this), and search 'Google My Business' . I'm not even going to use a picture here, as the massive green button on the page saying 'Start Now' speakers for it'self. 

So, when you are started, this is the page you will see 

Fill your details on the form - remember, Google will use street maps to show your address, so do a double check to make sure that what Google shows when you type in your address is what you want your customers seeing (am looking at you with the half built extension)! If it's not, then move the pin slightly. 

When finished, click continue. 

You will be asked to confirm that it's your account, and then to verify. Depending on your type of business, the most likely way to verify will be via the post to your business address. 

However, in some cases, you will be able to do so via phone or email - Google will let you know! 

Once your verification code comes through, follow the instructions, and 'TaDa' your listing is up, verified, and helping you to win more business! 

Now, you are set up, you can add some great options - photos, virtual tours, and much more - get in touch with me  to help maximise your listing, set up a great looking website, or any help you need! 

5 Ways Mobile Hairdressers Can Use Facebook to Get More Clients

1. Make your page stand out

There are thousands of hairdresser pages on Facebook, how do you make sure yours stands out from the crowd? Firstly, when it comes to hair - images are everything. Make sure to take photo's when you've done work you are proud of. Take it one step further and try doing a video! Colour change is great for video, and this is easier to do than you think. Just using your smartphone, and free to use apps, you can set up a wonderful time-lapse video to really show your clients what you are capable of! 

2. Ask for Facebook reviews

If you don't ask you don't get - ask clients if they can give you a review on your Facebook page - people are generally happy to do so for you. Facebook reviews can affect who see's your page, so it's a great way to ensure that you are visible to as many people as possible. Remember to respond to every review (good or bad), so set up notifications to ensure that you never miss a review! 

3. Targeted Facebook Advertising Campaigns for hairdressers

A targeted campaign can work wonders for your business. Do you do wedding hair? Set up a targeted campaign for those who are getting married soon within a specific area. Facebook advertising need not cost you a lot, and you can set your budget to spend only when someone takes an action (e.g makes an enquiry). 

4. Post An Offer

When you know times may be slow - post an offer! Facebook allows you to post specifically to showcase a special offer - find out how here. Again, if you want to get this to more that just your clients - you can boost an offer post, so it will show up in relevant news feeds. 

5. Give your page a personal touch

While posting photos, techniques and offers is wonderful, it's good to give your prospective clients some idea of what your personality is, after all, they may be spending a good few hours in your company! So do let a bit of your natural charisma shine through! Post as you would on your own page - comment on the weather (how British), say how much you've enjoyed your day. Just remember to use common sense, and, like a dinner party, avoid religion and politics! 

If you are a mobile or salon hairdresser looking for some marketing assistance, please do get in touch for a no obligation chat! We understand your business and returns, and our prices are set according to expected returns for you!