Quick Search

All Posts in: Uncategorized

Duchess on the Estate August 21st, 2009

It has been an interesting week. UKFast, finalists in the National business awards, winners of 2 ISPA accreditations, but the icing on the cake for me was a very small event, a dinner party with the Sarah Ferguson The Duchess of York. I am not one for being dazzled by stars of any type. I grew up in my 20′s with some very famous friends and girlfriends, Ashley Paske from Neighbours, Craig Charles from Red Dwarf and it taught me that fame comes with a very expensive price tag. You loose all sense of privacy and there is literally no where to hide. And the more famous you become, the bigger the price tag! Michael Jackson is a good example of this. A man who… Read the Rest »

Posted in Business motivation, Lawrence Jones, Manchester, People development, UKFast, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Resolutions for 2009 December 23rd, 2008

The festivities are but a few days away and the high-street is bursting with last minute shoppers. Christmas will be here soon, with presents under the tree, turkeys in the oven and the much-anticipated visit of Mr Claus. Over the holidays most of us have a few days off when we can look to the New Year. Here 2009 spreads out like a pristine carpet, glowing faintly under the fairy lights of possibility. During this time we have a chance to clear our heads and make some resolutions for the coming year. If you’re looking for some ideas for marketing your online business, I’ve compiled a few which have been discussed in my blog over the last 12months: * I will stay positive. Motivate your… Read the Rest »

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Woolworths: Where does all the traffic go? December 9th, 2008

The credit crunch at Christmas is causing no end of hardship for Woolworths plc and Entertainment UK Ltd – both arms of the Woolworths Group. The pair went bust after long-winded financial trouble, leaving other companies feeling the blow. Music and DVD retailer Zavvi, for example, is missing out on countless Christmas profits as its online shop is unable to trade. Its main supplier was Entertainment UK. So where do users go when they can’t buy from their first choice of online store? In this case the answer is: Littlewoodsdirect.com, Yellowmoon.org.uk, HMV.com, Amazon.co.uk and Asda.co.uk. These five online retailers are bidding on the search term “Woolworths” and reaping the benefits just in time for Christmas – savvy marketing if ever there was. Their sponsored links… Read the Rest »

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

The strength of internet business in the face of “recession” November 14th, 2008

Internet business is strengthening. As MD at internet hosting provider, UKFast, I have the luxury of being able to observe the fortunes of thousands of businesses. Of the quarter of a million domain names on our network, not one is complaining about the recession. On the high street decreases in spending are evident. You may well spot boarded up shops and buildings to let, which leads to concerns for the economic climate. However this is much more likely just to be due to the natural shift in consumer activity. The offline to online shift has been taking place for a number of years. More people than ever before are shopping online – in 2007, e-shoppers spent £370m online in just 24 hours on the second… Read the Rest »

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

Panic sacking erodes your long term business success November 12th, 2008

Four major British employers including Yell and Virgin Media have announced plans to axe over 5,000 jobs this week, as businesses fear the recession. I have found myself contemplating the implications of panic sacking. Will companies actually benefit from this move? Personally, I think not. Companies that make their employees redundant to save money over the period of recession may be able to balance their books but they don’t think of the long term consequences. The downturn isn’t going to last forever and when in a year or so the economy regains its strength, these companies will have whittled down their pool of talent. Apart from this, companies that have grown and been successful until this period of economic slowdown also face losing valued members… Read the Rest »

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Save adspend in the credit crunch – go online October 8th, 2008

Marketing and advertising spend is often the first thing to be cut in times of economic downturn. And businesses who haven’t decreased traditional advertising budgets in a bid to save costs are positioning themselves to speak directly to those affected. Look at Tesco’s new television campaign – their brand of low-cost foodstuff caters directly for those feeling the pinch. But even whilst the advertising sector as a whole shows a decline of 0.7%, online adspend has increased by 21% in the last year. So why has online advertising increased this much despite the credit crunch? It stems from the fact that the medium offers a relatively low-cost approach to brand building. And it works. At UKFast we operated an “online only” advertising policy for many… Read the Rest »

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

A new breed of entrepreneur September 23rd, 2008

A new breed of adolescent is gracing England’s green and pleasant land – the teenage entrepreneur. Typically technology-savvy, the teenager you thought was simply chatting over MSN or adding to an already buckling Bebo account may well be using the internet to far greater effect. Astoundingly, in 2007, 43 per cent of teenagers used the internet to make money online. “Big deal,” you might exclaim. “Anybody can sell on eBay!” But bear in mind that 22 per cent of those teenagers actually set up an online business. And over four fifths of these young tycoons do it from their parents’ homes. No overheads, no rent, no leaving the house – just pure profit. It beats a paper round, that’s for sure. As a youngster, back… Read the Rest »

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Can your choice of operating system boost your marketing campaign? September 1st, 2008

When you’re choosing a server to boost your business you should be thinking about your server’s capabilities as a marketing tool. A couple blogs ago I wrote of the importance of a speedy dedicated server to build your brand online. Since then I’ve been asked several times whether a Linux or Windows-operated server is more beneficial to the marketing of your business. The key to a successful online marketing campaign is a fast server, so which operating system offers the quickest service? In actual fact there is very little difference in the speed of Linux and Windows servers. Speed is largely based on the quality of the hardware. So, if your online business resides on a Quadcore Dell or HP, with a high level of… Read the Rest »

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

How to get people to buy from your website August 20th, 2008

The results are in from my latest poll – what makes people buy from a website? The options were trust, appearance, price and usability and the results show some very interesting trends. At 43%, trust is by far the most popular choice. So the question is how do you promote trust on your website? For ecommerce sites secure payment is imperative. Your customers need to know their personal details and cash are safe online. Internet security is a hot topic and everyone is aware of the threat of hack attacks and identity fraud. You need to demonstrate to your web visitors that yours is a reputable enterprise. An SSL certificate shows your company’s commitment to safe transactions online. UKFast clients who purchase SSL or EV… Read the Rest »

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

A fast server is instrinsic to your marketing campaign July 4th, 2008

Did you know the speed and reliability of your website is a massive factor in the stickiness of your site, for both human visitors and search engines? For the ever demanding customer, website response rates have to be immediate. How long do you spend on a slow page which doesn’t load properly? My guess is not long at all. And neither do your potential customers. For slow websites the click-away rate is often incredibly high – and what do web users do when they’ve clicked away? They go to the next search engine listing, which just happens to be your fiercest competitor. Speaking of search engines, many of the top ones use website response rate and server speed as part of the ranking process. When… Read the Rest »

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »