Given the credit crunch and all that it means or may mean for business what does that indicate?

Well, according to the pundits, online sales are expected to remain strong despite the slowdown in the economy. They say that customers are being tempted into online shopping by rising fuel costs, falling disposable income and because they believe online retailing is more sustainable. Additionally price comparison sites lead online shoppers to the cheapest deals so consumers can buy essentials more cheaply online. This leaves a bit more to spend on leisure, holidays, electronics and other ‘non-essentials’.

According to Mike Petevinos, head of consulting for retail analysts Capgemini UK:

“Whilst online retail is not immune to the credit crunch, it is showing greater resilience than the high street. The online channel continues to grow its share of retail spend thanks to the traditional drivers of convenience and choice but these drivers appear to be magnified by the current economic environment. The ability to research and make more informed sensitivity is a key advantage of the online channel. The results for August demonstrate the maturing of e-retail. Online sales are starting to mirror more closely seasonal retail patterns, experiencing a dip in August for the second year running. We predict between 30 and 50 percent of all retail will be online in the next 5 years. This is because, as online reaches 20% of all retail sales, retailers experience a tipping point which forces them to seriously rethink the future viability of their business model. We have seen this happen for books, music/DVDs and electricals and as the industry as a whole reaches this tipping point in 2008, more categories are sure to follow.”

IMRG and Capgemini are not alone in their predictions. Verdict, the retail analysts also forecast that online retail sales would reach £44.9bn by 2012.

Verdict say: “some of this is ‘cannibalisation’ - people buying via their computers what they would previously have gone to shops for. There is still a need and place for physical locations - the key is to ensure that synergies with online retailing are exploited to drive footfall to stores, but having an Internet presence is vital. Giving the consumer choice by establishing strong links between the in-store and online offer is now essential and online will find itself extremely well-placed to capitalise on the falling consumer confidence and lower levels of disposable income currently impacting the retail market.”

PayPal also predict similar numbers. They say that by 2010, one in five purchases will take place on the internet and that online consumer spending will reach £39 billion by 2010. The company has warned businesses to start trading online now or risk missing out on potentially huge profits. Carl Olav Scheible, Head of Merchant Services at PayPal said: “Over the past few years we’ve seen the internet gradually eating away at the high street. By 2010, we expect substantial sums previously spent on the high street to have moved online.”

So, if you are involved in retail what do you need to do to capitalise on the opportunities presented by the web?

Here are our suggestions.

Get an ecommerce website

D’uh. Yes it is true. Some retailers don’t have a site and many don’t have an ecommerce site. Yet compared with the cost of rent and rates the costs for a really good site are very small.

Economize and optimise

We have mentioned search engine optimization frequently in our newsletters and in times of economic uncertainty it’s even more important to maximize good traffic. And optimization is not just about the traffic received, page views and time on site it’s also about the funnel all the way through the site to the checkout and payment.

Sponsor a click

Plenty of people are fearful of pay per click and have ‘wasted’ a lot of money on it. OK, if you want to be a DIY plumber and electrician go ahead, but remember to call in the professionals once the bodge is likely to ‘set the house on fire and flood it too!’

Actually it’s pure direct marketing and anyone can understand the principles:

- Price £100

- Margin 50% = £50

- Cost of sales marketing allowance 50% = £25

- Conversion rate for leads 10%

- Maximum average cost per lead £2.50

but it’s pulling the right levers that make it work.

Affiliate – get people to join your club

As we said previously “Like all marketing programmes, affiliate marketing is no panacea and requires dedication and hard work from all the parties, but there is plenty of research to show that when it is done properly it has very good ROI for all parties involved.”

Affiliate marketing has one more benefit in troubled times it allows you to grow your business with no upfront cost - you only pay per sale.

Don’t fail – use email

Your customer list is one of your most valuable assets and email marketing is very cost effective. Use it not just to “sell, sell, sell” but to build a relationship with your customers, add value with interesting offers and cement their loyalty.

Make them smile – go mobile

57 billion text messages were sent in 2007 in the UK. In May 2008 6.5 billion were sent. That’s looking like over 70 billion messages in 2008. As we say on our texting page use text marketing if:

- You like to be able to communicate instantly with your customers and contacts.

- You think any of your customers have ever forgotten an important occasion.

- You want to increase brand awareness and provide additional revenue streams for your business.

- You want an edge that the vast majority of other advertisers just don’t use.

Service the customer perfectly

Online customer service can be dire and yet service is what keeps customers coming back for more.

When you are online can you easily find the price, terms, address and phone number or email address of the company? Are they hidden away? Does that annoy you? If it annoys you the surely it’s the same for your customers?

Make it easy for them to be able to communicate with you directly and quickly. That’s by phone, email, online chat and even the good old fashioned mail.

Even more important make sure your staff know what they’re talking about and that you provide quick delivery, simple refund procedures and a feeling that they are special and not just ££££ signs in your till.

Richard Hill is a director of E-CRM Solutions and has spent many years in senior direct and interactive marketing roles. E-CRM helps you to grow by getting you more customers that stay with you longer.

There are many people out there on the Internet who are genuinely willing to help you with advices, tips and tricks as well as strategies to achieve whatever you’re trying to do. Conversely, there are people whose designated goal is to steal from you, hack into your personal accounts, and generally disrupt your regular cyberspace routine. I don’t mean to put you off against the Internet, but you should think of this as a call to action: action against the dark side of the Internet and the evils it can brew. While there’s not much you can do against it, you certainly can learn how to avoid becoming a victim too often. Oftentimes it’s just a matter of being cautious and careful while knowing what to look for.

Case in point, we shall discuss phishing attempts - a form of password hacking. As the name suggests, these kind of dark-hued exploits revolve around the concept of retrieving your passwords, login details, or private information in a way that you’ll actually hand out such information without realizing so. For example: many eBay accounts are compromised by a hacker sending out hundreds of thousands of emails that look to have come from eBay. The email contains a call to action, or basically asks you to click a link which you *think* is an official eBay page. The page is really a fake, and as soon as you enter your details they are compromised. Nowadays, there are some highly creative and ingenious phishing scams going around, which get progressively more sophisticated. But as long as you watch out for certain details, there’s no reason you’ll end up getting tricked.

For example, if you ever receive an email asking for personal information of any kind. Be it your email provider, your dating service, or even your bank… Think about it, for a second: why would someone that already knows your login details (since they were inserted in the database from the beginning) would ever contact you asking for such details? The answer is simple: they wouldn’t! It really doesn’t make sense, but many, many people are scammed this way. So do us all a favor, and when you get any kind of email message asking you to “input your password to confirm your account” or something of the like… always think before you act. And never act by handing your personal information on a silver platter… 99,9% chance that any email asking for your personal information or login details is a phishing attempt. As rule of thumb - if something smells fishy on the internet, it probably is or just be cautious. Don’t end up with with fish on your face!

Written by Relationship Solutions - an expert on password hacking and relationship advice for troubled spouses.

Services requiring AAA protocols include ISP’s, web servers, Wireless Networks, and other services that need authentication of an entity before providing a connection. Connecting to an ISP providing dial-up connection requires a user of an ID and a password. The process starts by verifying the account from the ISP’s valid entries, once verified it continues to search for privileges given to the user before allowing it to access the accounting section of the network. Diameter protocol uses an enhanced method in performing the process.

Advanced features of diameter protocol include error management and notification, enhanced AVP (attribute-value pairs), and reliable connection through the use of TCP and SCTP instead of UDP. RADIUS can perform the basic function of an AAA protocol however, the demand for more reliability and security made the advent of diameter protocol. This includes the requirement of wireless network providers for advance roaming features.

Diameter protocol uses peer-to-peer standard. This means that an entity implementing the protocol can either be the client or server. A client may request a connection to the server by sending an Accounting-Request. This request will then be verified by a Capability-Exchange-Request (CER) message and once recognized for compatibility the receiver will then be sending Account- Answer message.

To secure diameter messages, it is required that a diameter stack must use IPsec and an optional TLS (Transport Layer Security) to convey these messages. Diameter data is carried in the form of AVP containing routing information and AAA information. Messages can be in different forms, but are synchronous from both the requesting entity and the server. A counterpart message form is located at the server to transport back responses to the client.

A connection can be established by sending a request to another diameter peer. Once a responding peer is detected, a client diameter will then issue a unique session-id to determine the time frame of the connection. The session-id holds the information for the session as the communication continues. The session will be constantly monitored by the diameter server to determine to connectivity of both nodes. If a recipient is not present, a termination session will be sent ending the connection.

Diameter stack allows developer to integrate the protocol to any application that complies with the requirement. Through the diameter stack, an application may be able to support applications or interfaces with extensions Cx, CCA, Dx, Rf, Ro, and Sh. A diameter stack should also be compliant with the 3GPP or 3GPP2 standards.

If you are looking for more information related to then feel free to visit http://www.traffixsystems.com

If you are looking for more information related to diameter stack then feel free to visit diameter protocol from TraffixSystems.Com.

To attain the goal of article submission, articles should be submitted to the right directory under the right category. What good is an article if not submitted under the right category? It does not stop there. Writings should be published on a suitable directory. There are thousands of directories available, but only few can provide the right and constant traffic you need for your website.

There are two types of directories, paid and free article directories and an author should be aware of this prior to submitting an article. Paid directories offer authors fast approval and easy access of articles. Normal submission can take a minimum of four (4) days to a maximum of two (2) weeks prior to getting an article approved. Nevertheless free article directories are the perfect choice. An author does not need to spend a single cent and there is an assurance that more authors are accessing it since it’s free.

Directories are managed by different organizations offering the same service. It is understood that they will definitely implement different set of rules. They have their own authors who will review every entry to the directory. This is to ensure that entries submitted are in conformity with the rules and will preserve the integrity of the site. For fast approval of articles, punctuation, grammar, and spelling mistakes should be avoided.

Content of the article should be weighed before submitting it to any directory. Factors such as keyword density, choice of words, popularity of the topic, and accuracy of information provided are key components to the success of a submitted entry. Directories do not allow entries with too much keyword causing it to lose the main point of the article. An article containing 1-3 percent keyword will most likely make it to the directory rather than an entry with 5-6 percent keyword though rich with information.

For articles that need to be submitted to several directories, it is very important to understand the importance of the author’s name and bio-box. Articles submitted to numerous directories must have identical author’s name. Using a different author’s name on different directories may result to issues that could lead to removal of account. Publishing an article under a different author’s name may violate the anti-plagiarism rule an article directory implements.

If you want to reach audiences of Israel then it is a good idea to visit Israel articles directories and submit your article at business articles.

Have no fear, my computer challenged friend. There are a variety of ways to turn yourself from computer illiterate to computer guru. Most of these ways are inexpensive and take up a little bit of your time. Some of them can be done in the luxury of your own home at your own pace. You can learn how to use your computer more efficiently, try out things you’d never thought you’d do – like creating basic computer graphics – and use it more as a tool than for entertainment.

If you don’t have or want to put out a lot of money to take a few basic computer courses, check with your local library to see if they offer free classes. Because most libraries now use a computer based cataloging system, they will offer classes to help older patrons learn how to navigate a computer. Many also offer classes that teach the basics of using programs such as Microsoft Word, a word processing program used for typing reports, letters, and articles such as this one. If your local library doesn’t offer these classes, ask them to find out what it would take to start them up. Check with your local Senior Citizen Center as well for free classes. These may be only open to seniors, but they may have information on other free classes available in your area.

Check with your local college for non-credit computer classes. Many community colleges usually offer these in the evenings. They are specifically designed for people to brush up on their skills, learn the basics of using a computer, or how to use a specific program. These classes are fairly inexpensive and meet one to two times in the evenings for about an hour to an hour and a half. Sometimes colleges offer these classes in beginner, intermediate, and advanced lesson plans, so choose accordingly.

If you are comfortable enough with a computer to teach yourself how to use other programs, instruction courses can be found on the Internet. These are usually step-by-step tutorials that you can work through at your own pace. Programs range from learning how to create complex databases in Microsoft Access to creating your first webpage using Adobe Dreamweaver. Some even offer a certificate of completion at the end.

No matter what level you are at in using a computer, keep in mind that it is a tool that can make your life simpler. Don’t be afraid to try and use it. And feel free to let your six year old give you a hand surfing the net.

With You in Technology

Adam White

Adam is a non-technical writer for www.Discover-VoIP.info. There he discusses Internet Phone Hardware and Wireless VoIP Headsets.

One large difference is that, in internet life, it is very often the younger who are the experienced. The current waves of growth in internet usage, the new users, are largely from the older generations.

Accordingly, it becomes the responsibility of the experienced users to educate and train newer users in the correct usage of email. One simple way of imparting this education to lesser experienced internet users is to politely refer them to this article at http://www.BestPrac.Org/articles/netiquette.shtml

The internet life carries it’s own versions of courtesy, privacy and security issues that all users need to know. Hence a new word has entered the vocabulary - Netiquette. (Internet etiquette.)

For example:

* In internet and email culture, ALL CAPITALS IS AKIN TO SHOUTING and is universally seen as rude and impolite.

* New email users often forget to include a brief “Subject” line on their emails, or do not understand the importance of it. Ordinary postal service “snail-mail” does not ordinarily require a heading about the contents of the letter on the outside of the envelope - though most posted periodicals and many commercial accounts nowadays do identify the contents or level of importance on the outside of the envelope. Email, however, operates very differently from snail-mail. Never omit a subject line, and keep your subject line brief and relevant. Without a subject line, your email will probably be seen as yet another junk email and be deleted unread by the intended recipient. More commonly, it may not even reach the recipient at all. Many ISPs filter suspicious looking emails and delete them without delivery. A blank subject line to an email filter is like waving a red rag in front of a bull.

* Never send emails to people you do not know without their express permission. Only send email to people who you know, or who have clearly indicated that they want to receive correspondence from you. Violation of this act of Netiquette can land you in all sorts of trouble. You will be labelled as a spammer. In some states or countries, you risk being charged with criminal or cival violations of the law for sending unsolicited email. Even in countries or states where there is no specific law prohibiting unsolicited email, it is regarded as bad manners and offensive. If you check with your ISP, you will almost always find that they reserve the right to terminate your internet connection if they receive complaints about you for sending unsolicited email.

* Even when sending email to people that you do know, only send them what they are likely to want. Not everyone you know wants jokes or other “chain email” forwarded to them. Not everyone shares your sense of humour or has the time while connected at work to be reading frivolous emails. If you like forwarding jokes or other “chain emails” to your friends, check with them first to be sure they are happy to receive them.

* Think before you type. Type, then think again. Unlike face-to-face or voice-to-voice communications, the easily and quickly typed email can all too easily be a source for expressing your feelings in the bluntest of ways. Similarly, the hastily written word may lack feelings and not express the emotions that can be sensed with eye contact or voice modulation in other forms of communications. It is too easy to forget that there is a human at the other end - not just a computer. You can very easily damage your own reputation and destroy friendships with thoughtless emails. Once an email is sent, you cannot retrieve it. The damage is done.

While to the experienced user all of the above is simply common sense, as the old saying goes “Common sense is not really all that common.” These basics are not innate within the human sole. Newcomers need to be taught.

When to use To:, CC: or BCC:

—————————-

Another vital area of appropriate email usage goes beyond merely being courteous in your communications - the correct use of To: or CC: or BCC when adding recipients to the email your are sending.

All popular email software and all web-email accounts give you a choice of these three different ways to add a recipient for your email. (Sometimes you might need to check your software menu and enable BCC as a visible option. It is not a visible option by default in all email software, unfortunately.) Your choice has vital privacy and security implications, so it is important to know which to use and when. While “To:” is self explanatory, a brief definition and history of CC: and BCC: will help you understand their correct usage.

* CC: is a term from old fashioned typists. It stands for “Carbon Copy”. In days of old, prior to photocopiers or word processors with laser printers, copies of letters were made by inserting two sheets of typing with a sheet of carbon paper in between into the typewriter. When a secretary typed a letter that was meant for one person though another person (other other people) was to receive a copy, and the first person was to be informed that a copy was being sent to another person, the typist would add a line under the signature at the end of the letter, along the lines of:

CC: Joe Bloggs.

Jane Smith.

This convention alerted to direct recipient to the fact that the letter had also been sent to other specific people.

If you did not want the direct recipient to know that copies were sent to other people, you’d simply not include a CC: line at the end of the letter.

* BCC: stands for “Blind Carbon Copy”. It is the electronic equivalent of sending a letter to multiple people without a CC: line. It means that people receive the email without any trace of who else is also receiving it being revealed.

Given those definitions, there are simple guidelines as to when you should use To:, CC: or BCC: in the emails that you send:

* If your email is being sent to just one person or email address, place it in the “To:” section.

* If your email is being sent to more than one recipient and all the recipients truly need to know who else is receiving it, put all the addresses in the CC: section.

* If your email is being sent to more than one recipient but there is no urgent reason for all the recipients to know the names and email addresses of everyone else to whom it is being sent, put all the addresses in the BCC: section.

(Some email software requires at least one address to be placed in the To: section. If yours insists on this when you are trying to send a CC or BCC email, put your own email address in the To: section.)

Understanding these basic principles of email usage has many benefits. It preserves the privacy of your contacts. It prevents lists of names and email addresses being sent to strangers when someone you send an email then forwards it to others. It helps to prevent viruses, worms and trojans being accidentally spread by your friends with out-of-date antivirus programs.

Most of all, it shows the people with whom you communicate that you are sensible and responsible in your online behaviour. It shows that you take their privacy and security seriously. It builds trust in your communications.

Trevor A. Johnson is Chairman of the internationally active Anti Spam organization BestPrac:Org (http://www.BestPrac.Org) which promotes internet industry standards of Best Practice for the Prevention and Elimination of Email Spam.

The growth and now almost complete global acceptance of confirmed-opt-in standards (sometimes called “double opt in”) for email newsletter subscriptions has been encouraging. It has certainly gone a long way towards distinguishing between legitimated, wanted periodic emails and unwanted spam.

Confirmed-opt-in works like this: An ezine publisher seeking subscribers places a form on a webpage inviting people to submit their email address to subscribe. Of course, there is a risk that malicious submissions could be made, so the confirmed-opt-in subscription mechanism sends a confirmation email to the address provided, requesting that the owner of that email either reply to the email, or click on a specially coded link within that email. As the only person who has access to reading that request for confirmation is the true owner of the email address, a confirmation is solid proof that the subscriber is genuine and not added to the mailing list by some other party.

A confirmed-opt-in also provides the subscriber with the comfort of knowing they are dealing with an honest publisher. In short, if a subscription is NOT via a confirmed-opt-in method, web users are well advised not to provide their email address at all.

Given the now nearly universal acceptance of confirmed-opt-in subscriptions to email periodicals in order to distinguish them from spam, it should not surprise that spammers themselves have turned their attentions to exploiting the otherwise virtuous confirmed-opt-in mechanism into something that appears to legitimise their dirty spam marketing practices.

Welcome to the new and nasty world of “confirmed-opt-in-spam”.

A growing trend in bulk email marketing (some of which is legitimate, some of which is not) has been the use of a “squeeze page”, also known as a “name-squeeze”. While such a marketing mechanism may be completely above-board, honest and spam-free, the worry is the growing trend of misuse of the squeeze page by spammers to create a confirmed-opt-in email list to which to send unsolicited marketing materials.

A squeeze page, of itself, is not an evil tool. Used properly, they can be a very effective and legitimate marketing mechanism. They work as follows:

An email publisher attempts to increase their subscriber base by offering a free gift to new subscribers to their newsletter or ezine. For example, the offer may be for a free PDF ebook, or a downloadable video clip or similar giveaway. The idea is that this extra bit of incentive will encourage more people to subscribe to the email publication. The subscriber receives a confirmation email to which they either reply or click a specially encoded link within the confirmation email. They are then either emailed the free gift or automatically directed to a web page from where they can download it for themselves.

In the hands of a spammer, a deceptively similar strategy is employed:

The spammer offers a free gift in return for your email address. When you provide your email address in anticipation of receiving the free gift, you receive a confirmation email. Again, either a reply or a click on an encoded link confirms that your email address is legitimate and that you are indeed the person requesting the free gift. The free gift is then supplied.

Did you spot the difference between the honest use and the spammer’s technique?

Unlike the honest publisher, the spammer does not tell you that you are subscribing or opting-in to receive a regular newsletter or future marketing emails. The person providing the email address and confirming it is only expecting to receive a single ebook or other free gift, unaware that they are now on someone’s mailing list and about to be bombarded with marketing emails.

Some very well known internet marketing “gurus” use and widely promote the use of this deception and misuse of squeeze pages, thinking that mere confirmed-opt-in or even the ability to subsequently opt-out makes it a legitimate practice. It isn’t. If such a shoddy marketeer sends you follow-up material without prior warning, without your express and knowing consent, that sender is spamming.

Beware of the squeeze page spammer.

Next time you see a free gift being offered online in return for your email address, check for these three things:

# Is there any clear mention that you are subscribing for future emails, or are you just being offered a free gift with no mention of an ongoing email relationship? (If the latter, why do they need to know your email address?)

# Is a detailed privacy policy displayed or clearly linked (not hidden or hard to find) that explains how and why email addresses are collected, whether privacy is assured or if they reserve the right to use it for other purposes, what your rights to removal from their database and future emails may be, and so forth? (A professional privacy policy is a rather lengthy statement for even the simplest of websites. Don’t place too much trust in single-sentence assurances.)

# Never forget the old adage: If the offer sounds too good to be true, then it almost certainly is.

The author, Mr. Trevor A. Johnson, is Chairman of the internationally active BestPrac:Org Anti Spam organization (http://www.bestprac.org) which promotes internet industry standards of technical and ethical Best Practice for the Prevention and Elimination of Email Spam.

1 : Keep your operating system up to date. All major operating systems contain security flaws. When these are discovered, the software manufacturer will quickly issue security patches for users to download and install, often automatically if the user chooses such a setting in their operating system’s preferences. Keep your operating system up to date at all time.

2 : Install a software firewall. Some operating systems these days come with a default firewall, though third party firewalls tend to offer greater levels of protection that those provided with an operating system. Several of these firewalls are available by online download at no cost and offer strong protection against hackers attempting to get in to your machine, as well as malicious software installations trying to covertly send email or other communications from your machine without your knowledge.

3: Install antivirus software and keep it up to date. In recent years, viruses have become a popular method for spammers to infect hundreds of thousands of personal computers with “trojans”, thus turning them into unwitting “zombies” capable of being controlled remotely to send unlimited quantities of spam. If your machine is infected, you could be spamming hundreds of thousands of other people and not even be aware that it is happening. Protecting your machine is not only for your own protection. It is the responsible thing to do to contribute to the protection of the internet as a whole. New viruses are released by vile offenders almost every day, so keep your antivirus software updated, either manually or by selecting auto update settings, daily.

4: Install anti spyware software and keep it updated. Spyware, also known as adware or malware, can be used in similar ways to viruses and trojan to invade your privacy, compromise your machine’s security and send emails or other electronic communications without your knowledge. Some of the more advanced antivirus software packages also include spyware protection, while others don’t. In either case, it is wise to have a standalone anti spyware package installed on your computer. Some of the better anti spyware software packages are available for download online without cost, so no computer owner should overlook this form of protection.

5: Only use email accounts that are filtered at the server level. If your email accounts are not filtered for both viruses and spam by your ISP or other email provider, close the account and find a new provider immediately. Don’t rely on installing your own local spam filter as spam should ideally be stopped at the server level so that spam and email borne viruses never reach your machine at all. No spam filter is 100% accurate, so it is fine to have your own local spam filter for the rare spam that your ISP or email provider’s server-side filter misses, but do not rely on your local protection alone. Another sound idea is to filter incoming email through one of the major web-based email services. These can be configured to receive POP3 email from your ISP or from your domain (if you own your own website) and filter your email. You may either check your now filtered email via the web interface, or pay a token annual fee (though some are at no cost) to be able to automatically download your web-account filtered email into your choice of local email software such as Outlook, Outlook Express, Thunderbird or others.

These five measures will not stop all spam from reaching your computer. All internet users have other responsibilities to be careful in regards to whom and where they disclose their email address, never open unsolicited attachments, and other such security considerations. Combined, though, these five measures will most likely reduce your future spam volume by at least 95%.

The author, Mr. Trevor A. Johnson, is Chairman of the internationally active BestPrac:Org Anti Spam organization (http://www.bestprac.org) which promotes internet industry standards of technical and ethical Best Practice for the Prevention and Elimination of Email Spam.

Web analytics can give website owners increased insight into how effective their landing pages are in convincing visitors to opt-in to a mailing list or purchase a product. As such, web analytics can provide crucial information that can help develop strategic marketing decisions.

There are three main reasons for using analytics:

1. Support SEO Efforts

2. Improve Usability

3. Increase Accessibility

Support SEO Efforts

Search engine optimization drives visitors to the most relevant pages on your website. The concept is simple, similar to the way someone would use Yellow Pages to find an electrician, someone using a search engine to locate the products or services that you sell is highly likely to be in the market for those products or services.

What is your 5 most profitable keyphrases? What are your top landing pages? Which pages have the highest bounce rate? Web analytics is plays a decisive role in SEO. It lets you see where visitors are coming from, which terms they searched to find your site, which pages they land on and whether they hang around or immediately hit the back-button.

Analytics gives you the marketing intelligence, based on what works and what doesn’t, to make informed SEO decisions. The SEO process becomes then feedback a bit like a feedback loop, getting better and better with every iteration.

Yet many companies fail to take advantage of web analytics, whether that’s through time restraints, or they can’t be bothered, or feel it’s out with their technically skills. By improving the targeting and visibility of your website, you will increase your market share, raise brand awareness and extend product reach, all of which has a positive effect on the bottom line.

Improve Usability

It’s relatively easy to publish a website, with today’s WYSIWYG editors and Content Management Systems there is little requirement to gain a working knowledge of HTML. The potential audience is staggering, but that does not change the need to understand your audience. By understanding how visitors interact with your site you can help them achieve their goals quicker and easier. If your site “works” the way they do, the user experience will significantly increase and users will return time and time again.

Web analytics lets you see how visitors use and navigate your site. Are they struggling to achieve their goals? If they are, there is very little chance that you will achieve yours! According to IBM, every $1 invested in making your website easy-to-use returns $10 to $100.

Increase Accessibility

It’s also important to understand the technology is the technology that is used to access your web pages. By making your pages accessible to older browsers, mobile technology and assistive devices, like screen readers, you can significantly reduce bounce rate because more people will be able to see your pages.

Web analytics will let you see which browsers (and browser version), screen resolutions, operating systems and more. Would you turn away customers from your shop because they arrived in the wrong type of car? No, then make sure you are not turning visitors away from your website because they use the ‘wrong’ browser.

If you are serious about your long term success online invest in web analytics. There may be a steep learning curve, but the payoff is huge

This article was written by SEO Scotland who specialize in promoting Scottish websites.

Things to do and to avoid.

Don’t use the built in microphone of your laptop computer, the reason for this is that although it might be of good quality it will pick up computer fan and hard drive noise and it limits you as to where you can put the microphone and still operate your computer effectively. Buy a decent microphone that you can plug into the computer and put in the best place.

If you have enough space in the room where you’re doing the recording use a microphone stand so that you don’t get handling noise on the microphone.

Buy a separate windshield that you can put a few inches in front of the microphone (the built in windshields rarely get rid of the worst blasts of air on the microphone). If you do have such artifacts then using some extreme bass cut just at those points in your software audio editor can help to make them less objectionable, but it’s best to avoid the problem in the first place.

Record in a quiet room and avoid places that have a lively acoustic (you can always add more reverberation later but it can’t be removed if it’s there on the original recording) i.e use a carpeted room with plenty of soft furnishings or hang up some duvets to soak up the reflectiveness of the room. If this isn’t possible then get close to the microphone and speak quietly into it (this reduces the likelihood of the room adding reverberation) also make sure you’ve used a windshield.

If you’re recording yourself use headphones to monitor your recording and turn down any speakers connected to your computer. Use a directional microphone and have it backed off from the computer to avoid cooling fan and hard-drive noises. You can only monitor with speakers if you’re recording someone else who’s located in another acoustically isolated room.

If you’re reading from a script then it would be a good idea to buy a music stand to put it on, this avoids paper rustling, especially as you change pages.

Set your recording level so that it goes into the red area only occasionally and avoid it being too quiet too.

If you are using a compressor/limiter in your pre-amplifier avoid excessive reduction of the dynamic range, since as with reverberation you can’t undo it. Use low compression ratios on the compressor and set the limiter at a high threshold just to prevent the loudest parts of your recording from distorting.

If you have any tone control (eq) on your preamplifier and you’re recording yourself then it’s best not to use it, use the eq built into your sound editor afterward when you can make a better judgment of sound quality, this is because you will hear yourself as others hear you when playing back the recording.

Microphone choice

There are no hard and fast rules about podcasting microphones since the frequency response of the human voice isn’t that great and you’re putting the microphone close to the person who’s speaking, so there are no fidelity (frequency response) or noise (hiss) issues to worry about.

The only aspect to consider is probably getting a cardioid microphone to avoid unwanted noise e.g. the computer, but if you have a quiet room and you’re recording several people around one microphone then an omni microphone would be better. It’s all down to your own set up and requirements.

The USB microphones that are now available will remove the need for a separate preamplifier but some will not have any means of direct monitoring built into them so you will hear a slight delay when monitoring via the computer.

More information on podcasting audio at Podcast Audio With lots more advice on recording microphones Michael O’Flynn has been a professional TV sound recordist for 20 years.