Category Archives: B2b

B2b, B2C, Cloud Hosting, Hosting, Internet, Secure Hosting

Rackspace Reports Success At National Customer Service Awards

Rackspace Hosting, the world’s leader in hosting and cloud computing, has announced it has won ‘Customer Service Team of the Year for B2B’ and the highest honour ‘Customer Service Team of the Year’ at the annual National Customer Service Awards.

Brian Thomson, EMEA Managing Director at Rackspace, commented: “We are pleased to win an award that highlights our complete dedication to our customers. It is a great testament to our Fanatical Support promise and the relentless work our ‘Rackers’ do to exceed customer expectations every single day.”

Rackspace’s ‘Intensive Team’ beat stiff competition from Telefonica O2 UK Limited, Virgin Holidays and the Isle of Man Bank to win the coveted awards, which recognise commitment to high standards of customer service, both through personal dealings with customers and by contributing to the overall customer care policy via the company’s involvement in communications, problem solving and innovation.

The team, managed by George Bray, looks after the most complex hosting solutions, including multiple server configurations, and has helped maintain customer retention and the Fanatical Support promise.

Thomson concluded: “2009 has been a great year for recognition of Rackspace’s commitment to customers and employees as it has been named as a top 10 company for
customer focus in Europe, voted 15th best company to work for by the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies Awards and presented with a Financial Times Laureate Award for being one of the Best Places to Work in the UK for five years running.”

About Rackspace Hosting:
Rackspace Hosting UK is the world’s leader in hosting and cloud computing and has been ranked in the Financial Times Top 50 Great Place to Work in the United Kingdom for the past five years. Rackspace provides its customers with Fanatical Support by delivering a portfolio of hosted IT services, including Green Hosting, Dedicated Servers, Private Cloud, Hybrid Hosting, Email and Apps.

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B2b, Internet, Online, Search, Searching, SEM, SEO, Social Networking, Web Marketing

Bigmouthmedia Looks Towards A Pivotal 2010 For Digital Marketing

Bigmouthmedia predicts that 2010 will be a pivotal year for the digital marketing industry, with mobile and social media playing a significant role in a series of developments set to sweep through the sector.

Bigmouthmedia analysts believe that an evolving search landscape, the continued rise of social media and advances in mobile technology will combine to make the next year one of the most eventful in the sector’s history. With these and other factors blurring the boundaries between PR, marketing and customer care, the company also predicts that the shape of the search business itself will begin to change.

“Digital marketing has always been a dynamic industry, but the introduction of real time search, the continued convergence of devices and the apparently unstoppable rise of social media have all come together at the same time, and we expect this to have a major impact upon the search landscape in 2010,” said Andrew Girdwood, bigmouthmedia’s Head of Search.

“The industry has matured, and already we are seeing some of the more prehistoric SEO business models out there beginning to fail. Major clients increasingly require partners with international scale, and as the downwards pressure on costs continues, small-scale agencies are going to struggle to cope in what is likely to become an environment dominated by a handful of major players.”

Bigmouthmedia’s sector-by-sector predictions for the year ahead indicate that the digital marketing business could be facing one of the most challenging years in its history.

Retailers are expected to continue investing in social media strategies designed to monetise direct marketing channels like Twitter and Facebook while simultaneously expanding their mobile marketing activities.

In the travel business, operators seeking to offset a fall in revenues caused by the global recession will increasingly look online. Some 57% of travel marketing budgets will be spent online in 2010, while the majority of companies are also predicted to increase spend on Social Media & Online PR and Search engine optimisation as they attempt to come to terms with this evolving channel.

In the world of finance, the advent of the widely predicted new supermarket banking services look set to dominate the sector’s year. A scramble has already begun, meanwhile, to win over the significant increase in consumers expected to return online and begin shopping for services again in 2010.

“The search marketing business has weathered the economic downturn better than most, but there is no room for complacency. For every one of the opportunities these new developments bring there are technical and logistical challenges to be overcome,” said Girdwood.

2010: The Year Ahead in Digital Marketing is available for download from bigmouthmedia.

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B2b, B2C, Cloud Hosting, Hosting, Internet, Secure Hosting

Rackspace Hosting Launches Enhanced Partner Network

Rackspace Hosting (NYSE:RAX), the world’s leader in hosting and cloud computing, has restructured its global Rackspace Partner Network to help partner companies grow their business, better serve customers and realise a competitive advantage. Rackspace actively solicited feedback from its partners to make enhancements to the Rackspace Partner Network, which include a new tiered structure, highly competitive financial incentives, greater access to training and marketing resources.

To add more structure and clarity to the program, Rackspace created four levels of commitment based on company size and level of sales: Platinum, Gold, Silver and Member. Additionally, Rackspace is offering partners aggressive commissions and, at certain partnership levels, will even pay commissions on upgrades and renewals, a significant benefit many competitors fail to match.

“We regard partners as an extension of the Rackspace family and have updated the Rackspace Partner Network to help ensure they receive the services and support necessary for long-term success,” said Robert Fuller, vice president of Rackspace’s Worldwide Channel. “Rackers worked closely with our partners to develop a program that creates the biggest impact and provides the best experience for them, which we believe will in turn impact the broader customer experience.”

Rackspace’s enhanced partner program includes several features available for partner companies at any level of membership, including:
– Access to a dedicated sales representative
– Sales and technical training
– OnBoarding support
– Access to the Rackspace Partner Network portal with exclusive marketing, sales and industry information as well as networking opportunities with other Rackspace partners

As companies move along the continuum from Member Partnership to Platinum Partnership, the new Rackspace program offers additional benefits including:
– Access to a dedicated channel manager
– Access to the searchable partner database on Rackspace.com as well as the database on the Rackspace Partner Network portal
– An opportunity to participate in partner company and/or Rackspace generated marketing activities
– Inclusion in promotions to Rackspace customer and partner base
– Discounts/commissions on upgrades and renewal contracts

“Sitecore has built its foundation on providing partners and customers with the best Web CMS platform, so it’s a natural extension to partner with Rackspace for its unmatched service and reliable hosting solutions,” said Jason Crea, VP, Client and Partner Engagement Sitecore, a new member of the Rackspace Partner Network. “Performance, security, scalability and price are critical elements for our customers in building and hosting websites, blogs, and other Web applications. Based on Rackspace’s past successes we anticipate a valued experience for our joint customers.”

“Q just entered its second decade of designing, building and enhancing brands online. Rackspace has been with us since the beginning, and we’re excited to re-launch our partnership in the program and reaffirm our shared commitment to support,” said Sean Breen, Founder and CTO, Q-Industries, a longstanding and valued Rackspace partner. “Rackspace continues to provide the critical infrastructure that both Q and our clients need to maximize ROI and minimize capital expenditures.”

About Rackspace Hosting
Rackspace Hosting UK is the world’s leader in hosting and cloud computing and has been ranked in Financial Times Top 50 Great Place to Work in the United Kingdom for the past five years. Rackspace provides its customers with Fanatical Support by delivering a portfolio of hosted IT services, including Green Hosting, Managed Hosting, Dedicated Servers, Private Cloud, Hybrid Hosting, Email and Apps.

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B2b, eCommerce, Internet, Services, Shopping, Social Networking, Video, Web 2.0

BT Brings Video Marketing To Small Businesses

BT Tradespace, the UK’s first business social networking site, has launched Version 2.0 of the social business network to enable small businesses to create and use video and other social media tools to market themselves and grow their businesses online.

With research revealing that people spend longer on websites with video, BT Tradespace will give small businesses the tools and advice they need to easily record and upload video content onto their online profile to display products and engage with customers. Internet video is also on the rise and is predicted to be over 60 per cent of all consumer internet traffic in the next three years.

Members of BT Tradespace will be given a special offer when purchasing a range of video camcorders. Businesses can get further information at http://flip.bttradespace.com

The complete revamp of BT Tradespace introduces a range of new features to ensure that small businesses can extend the reach of word-of-mouth online, get noticed by customers through influencing their search engine rankings and create more sales on and off the web.

Ivan Croxford, general manager of Digital Marketing Services at BT Business, said: “Online video advertising is continuing to grow as more and more people are using engaging video content to help get their unique personalities across online. We are now giving businesses on BT Tradespace a simple, effective way to market themselves using video.”

Tradespace V2.0 will offer further benefits to small businesses to help grow their online reputation and establish stronger relationships with their customers, partners and suppliers. These include the addition of BT ServiceSmart, a new customer service tool designed to help members improve their customer service. Customers can ask questions or report a problem so that businesses can resolve any queries through the community.

Members can also use keywords for every item they add to their online profile, which helps them to achieve a higher ranking on search engines allowing consumers to find them more easily. Additionally, businesses can track visitors to their BT Tradespace profile using Google Analytics.

Croxford, added: “More and more small businesses are boosting their online presence in an effort to increase their turnover. BT Tradespace is all about making online an accessible and effective sales and marketing channel for businesses, helping them grow their customer base and in return their business.”

Other benefits to members of BT Tradespace include online fans, testimonials and business recommendations and BookItNow, which allows businesses selling services to accept appointments in just a few clicks. Secure transactions using PayPal will also be available to enable businesses to quickly set-up an online store using both images and video to display goods and services.

Businesses using Tradespace will have access to more than 4.2 million stock photos and illustrations so businesses can personalise their online profiles and now also have the opportunity to set-up or join communities to connect with others, share ideas and get advice on a diverse range of topics.

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B2b, B2C, Database, eCommerce, Online, Search, Searching, Services, Tracing, Web Marketing

Tracesmart launches the 2010 Electoral Register

The end of the calendar year is the period when local authorities make available their amassed edited Electoral Registers, and again Tracesmart is at the forefront following the announcement that they have already started incorporating the newly released 2010 data into their extensive catalogue of consumer information. As one of the UK’s leading data specialists, Tracesmart maintains its position and reputation by ensuring the data they hold is the most up-to-date possible, providing their clients with access to the latest information obtainable.

The UK electorate populate two registers which are collated by local authorities. The first is the full Electoral Register, which is utilised to facilitate local and national elections and is also employed by credit reference agencies. The second is the edited Electoral Register which holds the data of those individuals who did not ‘opt-out’ whilst completing their registration form. This list is held in the public domain and is commercially available. Tracesmart utilises this information, along with previously accumulated data, to provide identity checks, data cleansing and tracing solutions to the nation’s businesses and industries.

Tracesmart Corporate has a diverse and constantly growing legion of companies employing their online facilities to trace people, and verify individuals as part of fraud prevention procedures. Edited Electoral Register records provide indispensable information for both identity checks and tracing exercises, as they contain names and addresses of UK citizens; key information needed to identify or locate an individual.

Commenting on the release of the newly uploaded Electoral Register data, Paul Weathersby, Tracesmart’s Technical Director, remarked, “Once again, Tracesmart leads the way in delivering Electoral Register information. We have uploaded millions of new records to our system in a very short period and they are already fully searchable. We pride ourselves on this rapid integration which guarantees our customers early access to the best data available.”

Loading of the 2010 edited Electoral Register data into Tracesmart’s systems will continue throughout December and January; it is anticipated that the edited register will be fully integrated by the end of January 2010.

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B2b, B2C, Database, eCommerce, Online, Search, Searching, Services, Tracing, Web Marketing

2010 Electoral Roll now available at Tracesmart

In addition to the Christmas festivities, the end of the year brings with it a period when local authorities make new Electoral Roll data available. As in previous years, Tracesmart lead the way, as they have already started incorporating the newly released 2010 data into their people search facility.

As the most up-to-date yearly snapshot of the UK’s adult population, the Electoral Roll is at the core of Tracesmart‘s people search service. There are two versions of the electoral database produced each year, the full Electoral Roll and the edited. Tracesmart utilises the edited version, together with a variety of other datasets such as directory enquiries and birth, death and marriage indexes, to make it as easy as possible for individuals to find relatives and friends.

Ensuring their customers have access to the most up-to-date data available has always been one of Tracesmart’s fundamental principles and loading Electoral Roll data at the earliest possible time is a key part of this ethos. Paul Weathersby, Technical Director at Tracesmart, explained further,

“Every year since Tracesmart formed, we have aimed to load the new edited Electoral Roll records earlier than the previous year, and ahead of our competitors. This year is no different and I am pleased to say that we have loaded new Electoral Roll records earlier than ever before, ensuring our customers have access to this important data at the earliest possible juncture.”

Now is the perfect time for Tracesmart customers to utilise the new 2010 electoral data within their searches as it can be used in an address search to update contact details in readiness for posting Christmas cards, gifts and party invites. Alternatively it can be used to locate relatives in time for a Christmas family reunion.

Commenting on the release of the newly uploaded Electoral Roll data, Owen Roberts, Tracesmart’s Communications Manager, remarked, “We hope the newly added Electoral Roll data will help make more reunions possible. Our researchers are already using it to great success and I am confident that the new data will benefit those gearing up for Christmas, who are looking to be reunited with loved ones.”

Tracesmart has added millions of edited Electoral Roll 2010 records onto their system and will continue to do so throughout December and January. It is anticipated that all of the edited Electoral Roll records for 2010 will be loaded by the end of January.

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B2b, Hosting, Internet, ISPs, Programming, SEM, SEO, Services, Web, Web Design & Development, Web Marketing

Naples, Marco Island, Everglades CVB Renews Association With Florida Web Developer

The Naples, Marco Island, Everglades Convention & Visitors Bureau, the official tourism marketing agency for Collier County and the popular Paradise Coast area of southwest Florida, has renewed its vendor relationship with Web developer and marketer Sales & Marketing Technologies (SMT), Altamonte Springs, Fla., for Internet marketing, search engine optimization, and social media marketing strategies.

“SMT has been our Web site and digital marketing partner for several years. They have been enormously helpful in optimizing our website, keeping us ranked high with the major search engines and have efficiently managed our PPC efforts. We recommend them highly to anyone looking for ways to maximize their web presence,” said Jack Wert, executive director for the Naples, Marco Island, Everglades Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The Naples, Marco Island, Everglades Convention & Visitors Bureau provides information assistance, visitors guides and travel planning tools for visitors, travel agents, tour operators, meeting planners, travel press and general news media. The bureau maintains the official travel and tourism Web site for Collier County. www.ParadiseCoast.com, which is operated with the assistance of SMT.

Sales & Marketing Technologies (SMT) is a leading full-service Web development and Internet marketing company. SMT creates, develops and markets custom Websites for businesses in the U.S., U.K., Caribbean, and South America. Additionally, SMT offers Internet marketing and lead generation programs, consulting Web hosting services, strategic planning and social media integration. More information: 800-434-0339.

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B2b, Internet, Online, Services, Web

DPCI: 10 Years And Going Strong With Implementation Of Ideal Digital Asset Management

After 10 years of service, DPCI continues to assist corporations, businesses, and numerous organizations find new ways to achieve increased speed and functionality in managing and updating online content. To begin the process a thorough evaluation of any existing content management system in use will be done by the professionals at DPCI. This allows them to determine if building upon or extending the existing environment is an option. The goal is efficiency, functionality, speed, cost effectiveness, and security, all in one.

This goal may be a daunting task for the typical IT personnel but for the experts at DPCI it is all in a day’s work. These professionals have a wide range of experience and expertise with implementation of CMS platforms and they offer a full service implementation shop. This is another convenient feature that is not often found in such services. The team has extensive knowledge about how a web content management system should work in an assortment of business environments. Their product services include business analysis, project management, product integration, extended programming, and training and support. The DPCI experts have worked with a great variety of clients; from large corporations to museums and many other types of organizations. This versatility ensures that DPCI can execute exactly the right digital a s s e t management system for each of its clients.

An organized system of digital a s s e t management is necessary for speed and functionality. Digital a s s e t s must be archived in a fashion that is easy to search, annotate, access and update, based on numerous criteria. A quality digital a s s e t management system will also include permissions and security controls for protection. This means that only authorized individuals will be able to access the system, which affords increased safeguards in protecting the company’s digital a s s e t s.

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B2b, Internet, Online, Services, Software, Web

State Of The Art Approaches to Digital Asset Management Implemented By DPCI

DPCI works to assist companies with increased speed and functionality in updating online content. An online presence is an absolute requirement of every modern day industry, corporation, business, and organization. But simply having a website does not guarantee visitors to the site. In fact, there are several things that must be in place before visitors can even find a website easily. Perhaps the most important concern is that of search engine optimization. This is a method of utilizing appropriate keywords and phrases in the correct way to get noticed by the search engines. A good ranking with search engines helps to ensure that people in need of a particular service or product will find the right site.

Another important part of having a positive online presence is having interesting content that keeps visitors coming back. This is sometimes done through the use of photos, videos, audio, logos and other branding materials. As a company grows and develops new products and services, the more of this digital content there is to manage. Obviously the digital asset management is a vital component of any content management system.

Depending on IT personnel to handle this responsibility is how some companies tackle the job. However, this is not the most efficient use of this personnel’s time. While it takes them away from other tasks that they are better suited for the content management system they may decide to incorporate is likely to be less effective than other options available. Any digital asset management system implemented will place more responsibility on marketing professionals and content experts and less on IT personnel.

Before deciding on the appropriate digital asset management system, DPCI performs a thorough evaluation of a company’s existing infrastructure. This is done to determine if building upon or extending the existing environment is a viable option. With over 10 years of business and a team of experts, DPCI is able to implement a modern approach to creating, managing, interpreting and delivering content. Their state of the art approaches to organizing staff, improving processes and implementing sensible technology to support content management system needs can make the difference between a company’s optimal success and mediocre stability.

The team at DPCI has a collective knowledge with wide experience in implementation of CMS platforms. A full service shop experience is offered; DPCI truly knows how a web content management system should work in various business environments. Some of the services include business analysis, project management, product integration, extended programming, training and support.

DPCI was incorporated 10 years ago. In ten years time Database Publishing Consultants, Inc.’s expert consultants have expanded their already extensive knowledge about what makes the perfect content management system. Whether working with a museum or a large corporation, DPCI can easily implement a digital asset management system that allows even non-technical personnel to become producers.

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B2b, Internet, Online, Services, Software, Web

Web Content Management System Provided By DPCI: Based On The Philosophy Of Instant Access

DPCI is committed to assisting companies to find the best content management system available to meet their particular needs. If a company’s website doesn’t leave an impression that lasts then its memory soon disappears from the mind of the visitor, which means sales are lost. A comprehensive web content management system considers search engine optimization as well as other important strategies.

With 10 years of experience, DPCI has a wide range of expertise in implementation of CMS platforms. DPCI offers a full service implementation, from knowledge about how web content should work in various business environments to business analysis, project management, product integration, extended programming, training and support. DPCI works diligently to assist companies in having increased speed and functionality when it comes to updating online content.

DPCI recognizes the power of online communities and as such, that power can be leveraged via a customized content management platform with online community services distinguished by a company’s private label. These private label offerings can assist in making communication more accessible between customers, suppliers, or partners, both internally and externally. Resources, information, and an online community relevant to the particular needs of the targeted market group will enhance the visitor’s experience.

Many companies rely on their IT personnel to develop, manage and deliver all web content used. This often takes the IT professional away from other tasks that require his/her expertise. Web content management systems implemented by DPCI are based on the belief that access should be instant and it should be convenient to use with a template driven web browser interface. With the right content management system, even non-technical personnel can become producers.

DPCI delivers systems that are easy to use and which place less responsibility on IT personnel and more on marketing professionals and content experts. Through careful evaluation DPCI determines the right content management system for a particular company and its business type. The system will be flexible and scalable – that is, it will have the capacity to grow with the company.

Every company has unique needs. DPCI can implement a digital asset management system that is geared specifically to the requirements of a large corporation or smaller organization. The fact is that over a short period of time companies acquire numerous corporate logos and branding materials, still and stock photography, audio and video clips, and archival content of all kinds. This must be organized and handled via digital asset management.

Database Publishing Consultants, Inc. is now celebrating 10 years of business. In that time DPCI has gained vast knowledge regarding what makes an ideal content management system. The team at DPCI is a collection of experts in various areas, each bringing wisdom to share with the group. This results in a solid foundation and intelligence that is used in the implementation of a company’s digital asset management system.

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B2b, B2C, Database, eCommerce, Online, Search, Searching, Services, Tracing, Web Marketing

Rise In Online People Searches In Time For Holiday Season

With Christmas fast approaching, many people start thinking about absent family members, and will look to the internet for help. Indeed, the rush to reunite with family and friends has already begun, with online people search providers, Tracesmart, reporting a marked rise in visitor numbers to their site.

Tracesmart celebrated their tenth year of tracing earlier this year, and with over 10,000 searches performed daily on their website the service goes from strength to strength.

The popularity of online self search websites has grown rapidly since the introduction of the edited electoral roll, and the growing trend in online searching has empowered people to independently locate individuals without the need to pay for a private investigator.

Even with limited information, it is now possible to use an address to locate a lead as part of a search as Tracesmart provides an address search facility. This is particularly helpful if someone already has a street and house number, but isn’t sure if the person still lives there. Additionally the free postcode search function is especially useful for this time of year as it can be used to update old address details, so that items aren’t unnecessarily delayed at the postal sorting office.

Tracesmart has an experienced customer service team, available all day and late into the evening to offer support and advice to novice tracers. Commenting on this surge in demand, Sarah Lawrence, Tracesmart’s Customer Services Manager, noted, “We are receiving lots more enquires this month, which is not unusual for this time of year. As always my team and I are fully prepared to deal with the amount of searches and transactions that are being carried out on the site. We hope and aim to be able to assist in reuniting as many friends and families as possible this month, to make their Christmas even more special this year.”

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Advertising, B2b, Internet, Online, Search, Searching, SEM, SEO, Social Networking, Web Marketing

Bigmouthmedia And Econsultancy Reveal Companies Plan Increased Social Media Spend In 2010

The Social Media and Online PR Report, published by Econsultancy in association with bigmouthmedia, has revealed that most companies are planning to invest more in social media next year but are struggling to find the time and resources to manage their activity.

The report is based on a survey of over 1,100 companies and agencies, and is the most comprehensive study of its kind around how companies are using online PR and social media for marketing and customer service.

The results showed that 86% of companies plan to spend more money on social media in 2010, and a further 13% are planning to keep the same level of budget. 54% cited their biggest barrier to better social media engagement was a lack of resources, with 90% of businesses stating that social media is taking up more time internally than a year ago.

“The growth of social media and online PR has been meteoric, but until now there have been very few hard facts available on precisely how UK business is using the new channel and what they’re getting in return for their investment,” said Phil Gripton, Managing Director of bigmouthmedia UK.

“These statistics – the most detailed yet available – show that while an increasing number of companies are embracing social media, many are struggling to effectively manage their engagement and are consequently failing to make the most of a potentially enormous opportunity.”

The research found that many companies are experimenting with social media without yet reaping any measurable benefits. Only a quarter of companies said that they have gained “real, tangible value” from social media whereas 60% said they had gained “some benefit but nothing concrete”. However, 52% of respondents who are heavily involved said they have gained real value, compared to only 13% of companies who “experimented but not done much”.

Michelle Goodall, Econsultancy’s social media and online PR consultant at Econsultancy, said: “Before they think about their strategy and the best tactics, companies need to go back to basics and think in detail about how online PR and social media can help them deliver against their business objectives.

“The reality is that most businesses understand how to listen, what to measure and where to engage but are struggling to define the value of engagement and reputation in social spaces.”

There view of the benefits of Twitter is mixxed, with 31% of respondents saying there are “tremendous opportunities” available, but half reported their companies are “open-minded but not fully convinced about the value to the business”.

The majority of organisations (62%) are using the micro-blogging site for publicising new content, with 54% using the channel for marketing or brand monitoring (47%). Only 27% of companies are using Twitter as a customer service tool for reacting to issues and inquiries, while 25% use Twitter as a customer feedback tool. 7% felt that Twitter is over-hyped and a fad.

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B2b, B2C, eCommerce, Internet, SEM, SEO, Services, Shopping, Social Networking, Traffic, Web, Web Marketing

eCommerce Sites Add Festivity and Enhanced SEO this Holiday Season

SEOWhat.com, an Internet marketing, search engine optimization and web design firm helps prepare clients’ sites for this year’s holiday shopping season with festive banners, improved rankings and social media buzz. The holiday season is one of the busiest for online shopping sites and this year’s economic situation will increase the competition among merchants.

eCommerce Sites Add Festivity and Enhanced SEO this Holiday Season

“Industry experts and surveys show that consumers are likely to increase their online shopping to complete their holiday shopping lists this season,” said Catherine Seven, founder, SEOWhat.com. “The challenge for e-tailers this year will be to win the trust and loyalty of shoppers in an increasingly tight-fisted economy. And this year, the key to being relevant is to make the entire shopping appealing to customers.”

The design team at SEOWhat.com specializes in creating eye-catching banners, holiday logo enhancements and overall web site design. Clients like www.bigsmiletoys.com chose a holiday-themed logo to make its site welcoming to potential customers. In addition to aesthetics and SEO site development best practices, SEOWhat.com generates buzz for clients and manages their reputations online employing the myriad of new and emerging social media and social networking tools available.

SEOWhat.com helps clients improve search ranking through a combination of search engine optimization strategies that include, but is not limited to, social media optimization/Web 2.0, social bookmarking, press release and article writing and submission, on page/off page optimization, niche keywords and long-tailing, link building, meta tagging, Yahoo! merchant sites (Y! Stores), YouTube/video submissions and more.

Ranked best in Social Media Optimization by TopSEOs.com, SEOWhat.com creates buzz through the use of social networking tools such as blogs, social bookmarking sites and social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. The full service agency provides a la carte or full service SEO strategies tailored to the needs of B2C, B2B, products and services, businesses, educational and not-for-profit organizations. With a talented team of web engineers, graphic designers, copy writers, editors and online/offline marketers, SEOWhat.com is the only competitively priced firm of its kind that is based entirely in the U.S.

About SEOWhat.com
SEOwhat.com is an SEO services agency that helps companies navigate the dynamic world of internet marketing, integrating search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), social media optimization (SMO) and Web site design to increase a site’s visibility. Specializing in Yahoo! and Google optimization, SEOWhat.com develops search friendly Web sites on a variety of platforms including Yahoo! Stores, WordPress and custom built sites. In addition to Google SEO, SEOWhat.com provides organic search results, without the price tag, creating powerful web sites that appeal to human eye and search engines alike.

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B2b, B2C, Database, eCommerce, Online, Search, Searching, Services, Tracing, Web Marketing

JLT Findings Underline Benefit Of Tracesmart’s Existence Product

Following an assessment of their clients’ member screening procedures, JLT Benefit Solutions Ltd (JLT) established the distinct advantages of Tracesmart’s Existence checks facility. JLT were one of the first companies to employ Existence Alert in conjunction with Tracesmart’s tracing service and are able to quantify fully, the benefits of comprehensive screening and batch pension tracing.

Commenting on the service, Andrew Marson, Head of Administration Consulting, JLT said, “All JLT clients using this service are benefiting from the improvements it brings. A number have saved significant sums of money as a result. Our relationship with Tracesmart is well established.”

Tracesmart Corporate provide a broad spectrum of data intelligence services to the financial sector, including a multi-tiered consumer tracing solution utilised by a growing number of FTSE 100 companies. Tracesmart is also one of a small number of companies to receive a weekly feed of current UK Death Registration Information (DRI) from the General Register Office, crucial data which is employed to enhance the mortality screening functions of its anti-fraud services.

Established as the preferred choice within the pension industry for conducting existence checks, Tracesmart’s Existence service can boast the vast share of the relevant market. The process utilises DRI, historical death indexes and commercially aggregated mortality data to flag any deaths in the UK, whilst also confirming residency and identifying gone aways. This is carried out on a continual basis, permitting appropriate action to be taken to mitigate risk at the earliest possible moment.

Remarking on Existence and his company’s performance within the pension sector, Tracesmart’s Managing Director, Mike Trezise remarked, “Tracesmart’s combined existence checks and tracing services are industry leading. We are the principal player in this market now because we essentially understand the needs of the sector. As JLT has confirmed, our existence service delivers significant advantages. The process appreciably benefits all concerned, except that is, the fraudster.”

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Businesses Would Love To Never Have To Buy Another Server Again

Rackspace Hosting, the world’s leader in hosting and cloud computing, has announced the results of its latest survey, which highlights the growing problem of businesses struggling to cope with the demands of managing their own servers. More than half of the businesses surveyed responded that they would ‘love to never have to buy another server again.’

Rackspace’s online survey research was conducted in September 2009 and involved 441 US and UK-based IT decision-makers at companies with 100-500 employees

The research underscores Rackspace’s recent launch of No More Servers, a campaign and community dedicated to a new way of buying IT which includes managed hosting, cloud computing and email hosting. The new service has been created to help free businesses from the hassle of in-house server management and to enable them to instead shift their focus onto mission critical applications, core competencies and innovation. Rackspace is augmenting this initiative with Rackspace.co.uk/NoMoreServers, a location for companies to learn the benefits of hosting services.

The study, conducted by LoudHouse on behalf of Rackspace, investigated the views of more than 441 IT managers at mid-size enterprises and revealed that approximately one third of their IT staff’s time is spent on server management, which is liable to limit their ability to focus on strategic initiatives that could benefit the business. Fifty eight percent of respondents cited the ‘hassle of managing servers’ as a challenge for their organization, while 61% of IT managers said ‘time to drive innovation’ was a challenge.

Additionally, on-site servers were seen to also cause ‘server stress’ for IT managers, who cited ‘the need to be available 24×7’, ‘hardware issues and maintenance’, and ‘after-hours calls and issues’ as the top three server management issues. The survey also found that 51% of respondents have made mistakes in their server capacity planning. Fifteen percent have bought too many servers and 36% have failed to buy enough. This leaves businesses exposed to the risks of financial waste and the inability to cope with user demand by not getting server spending right the first time.

The survey also revealed that 35% of companies identify themselves as ‘proactive and slightly ahead of the curve’ when it comes to describing their approach to new technologies, while 28% remain ‘cautious and reactive.’ When it comes to hosting and cloud computing, barriers to adoption include assurances of reliability (29%), evidence of cost savings (28%) and assurances of security (27%).

“IT should be an enabler,” said Lanham Napier, president and chief executive officer of Rackspace Hosting. “The survey seems to reveal that a huge chunk of time and resources are spent keeping the lights on and preventing problems. Rackspace, with its world class Fanatical Support, can free organizations from the hassle of server management and enable their IT teams to focus on strategic initiatives that will positively impact the business.”

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B2b, B2C, Internet, Online, Services, Website Localization

Translator Network tolingo Launches English Language Website

The translator network tolingo (www.tolingo.de) has launched an international version of its translation portal. The website (www.tolingo.com) is in English and the aim is to ensure that the company’s services will also be used increasingly by customers from outside Germany.

“After a very promising start, we see the international site as the logical next step. We have a worldwide network of over 2500 qualified translators available. Why then shouldn’t customers around the globe benefit from it too? Besides the fast and uncomplicated processing of the submitted texts, the 24 hour global availability is one of the great benefits of offering translation services online,” says tolingo Managing Director Hanno von der Decken.

tolingo provides customers with quotations in real time, while this usually takes several hours or even days elsewhere in the industry. Automatic selection of the best available translators within the network for each document means that tolingo delivers translations of consistently high quality while keeping translation times to a minimum. In this way, the processing times that usually stretch to days in the industry can be shortened to just a few hours. Yet the prices for the translations are markedly lower than those of a conventional translation office.

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B2b, B2C, Internet, Online, Services, Website Localization

Translation Services Firm Increases Sales By Providing Free Content

According to Ken Zwerdling, CEO of Foreign Translations, Inc., a global translation services firm, “Today’s savvy Internet user leaves little room to be directed by companies to take a particular course of action. The consumer has become the expert and is in control.” We have seen this change of power especially within the real estate industry. Consumers are on-line analyzing local markets and exploring homes via virtual tours with no help from a live individual, all the while making decisions without involving professionals. This trend has overflowed into many industries around the world. What does this mean for professional service companies that want to earn business? Be the first to offer consumers educational information about your services and give it away for free.

Be Known As The Expert In Your Industry

For companies that almost never achieve a face-to-face meeting with customers or potential customers, its on-line presence is the only means for consumers to validate its expertise and knowledge. This validation goes beyond graphics, ease of navigation, and client lists. It is found in the quality of the information that company provides. Some visitors know exactly what is wanted: price estimate, quote request, or contact information. Other visitors want to learn more about the different service offerings, while still others seek valuable free information to better understand the industry and guide the decision on who is contracted for service. By fulfilling the information needs of consumers via tutorials, instructional content and free tools a company will become the recognized expert in that field.

Keep the Consumer Coming Back

Free instructional articles are a valuable tool that directly serves the needs of many website visitors. The average number of page views a website visitor sees is only three. Offering instructional content will result in visitors who stay longer, view more pages, learn more about your company and become more educated. The key is to think like a customer and freely give away what is wanted. A company needs to ask itself, “What kind of information would I research if I wanted to learn more?” To stay ahead on consumer desires, a company should publish new articles periodically to accommodate ever-changing consumer interest. At Foreign Translations, Inc., the company offers a vast array of valuable instructional content. It provides white papers on topics such as How to Prepare for Globalization, Laws of Quality Translations, How to Find Growth in Non-Traditional Markets, Language Translation and Social Media, Marketing to Hispanics and Selling your Products and Services in Other Markets. In addition, there are informational articles on business etiquette in major countries such as China, Germany, and South Korea, the history of the world’s major languages, and what to expect when traveling to specific countries across the globe.

Some customers are simply looking for information. They want to complete due diligence and research the service needed before finalizing a purchase. You want to be the company that offers these consumers more than is expected, more than what can be gained from your competitors. Service companies must understand that instructional content can take many forms such as whitepapers, industry research, tips and free tools. Use this content effectively to make your website indispensable. Encourage your visitors to return again and again.

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Advertising, Affiliate Program, B2b, eCommerce, Internet, Online, Services, Shopping, Traffic, Web, Web Marketing

Network Affiliates Push Clickbooth.com Into Inc. Magazine’s Top 500

The Inc. 500 is a list of the top 500 high growth businesses. It is an entrepreneur’s dream to be on the list. Clickbooth ranked #5 overall and #1 in their business sector, which is advertising and marketing. In an economic climate where many businesses have been simply trying to survive, Clickbooth has grown an amazing 12,000% over the last four years. They have been doing it by providing consistently strong ROI for publishers and advertisers. It is a milestone for the advertising industry as whole, and marks the dawn of a new day for the future of marketing.

The infamous dot-com bubble may have popped but there are still businesses using the Internet in innovative ways to enjoy high growth by providing exceptional customer value. Clickbooth’s industry revolves around a concept known as affiliate marketing. It is a marketing strategy that shares revenue among advertisers and affiliates online. affiliates are traditionally known as publishers and are considered the same in this context.

The network affiliates at Clickbooth are among the best in the business. Some are among the Alexa Top 50 sites. The affiliates network together through Clickbooth to provide premier marketing campaigns for advertisers. The number of worldwide affiliates they use is over 10,000 and many of them are exclusive. The coverage is very broad and encapsulates a number of niche markets. The compensation is based on performance from one or a combination of sales, clicks, and registrations.

Each affiliate is rigorously screened and monitored for performance and integrity. Much of Clickbooth’s success comes from their industry leading compliance team. Their function is to track uploads and downloads among other monitoring functions to ensure that the proper integrity is maintained. Any of the affiliates that are identified as abusing the system are promptly excommunicated. The result is a dependable set of affiliates that are networked together through Clickbooth to be reliable, trustworthy and maximize an advertiser’s time and money.

Clickbooth is an internet marketing business created in September 2002. With their high integrity and high quality affiliates network, they leverage the power of the Internet for businesses looking to maximize their advertising budget. Clickbooth produces benefits for their network affiliates and their clients in need of advertising through a high level of integrity, a careful screening process, and an Internet marketing program that is mutually rewarding.

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B2b, Dedicated Servers, Domain Names, E-mail, Hosting, Internet, Secure Hosting, Services

Report Says Small Firms Floored By Basic Web Errors

Streamline.net web hosting research finds the majority of consumers using SME websites in the past year experienced usability faults.

The Streamline.net study of 1700 consumers found that 83% faced faults including unfinished web pages, broken URLs and an out-dated design. A further survey of 450 UK firms revealed that whilst half consider their website to look ‘professional’, 1 in 3 owners admit that they are guilty of ‘neglecting’ their sites. There is also a worrying discrepancy between where consumers wish to find web addresses, and where companies are displaying them. For example, 48% of firms still do not make any efforts to optimise their URL on search engines. Whilst 1 in 5 consumers took a web address from the side of a small company’s vehicle, only 10% of small firms currently display theirs in this way.

The data from Streamline.net showed that many SMEs are alienating web users through simple web errors. 76% of consumers have now used the website of a small business. Whilst 47% of consumers consider their experiences of such sites to be overall ‘good’, a further 1 in 4 Britons conclude such websites to be ‘barely usable’. In the past year, 83% of online consumers found faults on more than one occasion. Web errors reported included unfinished web pages (54%), broken URLs (52%), outdated email addresses (50%), and missing contact details (31%).

Top design gripe with SME websites is an outdated website design, faced by one third of users in the past year. 1 in 5 online consumers have encountered superfluous descriptions of products and services. 20% have been confused by the use of generic corporate images that bear no relation to specific company’s.

The findings are in contrast to another survey of 450 small firms where 76% felt confident that the language on their website could in no way be perceived negatively, and 84% saw the images on their website as fit for purpose.

Steve Holford, Marketing Director at Streamline.net, said, “As with many areas of business, if the basics of a website are not sound, customers will be deterred from purchasing”.

Almost half of companies (48%) made no attempt at optimise their position on search engines, when 77% of consumers call upon these. Many enterprises are prioritising the display of their URL in places unpopular with online consumers. 43% of companies publish their web address on industry websites whilst only 15% of consumers use this source. Remarkably, only 9% display their web address on signage or windows of their premises, when 1 in 5 Britons have made use of a domain name taken from here in the past year.

Holford added, “Every opportunity to capture online custom must be seized upon, which means promoting a web address in every possible environment – online and off-line”.

Streamline.net provides a comprehensive range of domain registrations. Users can even try free web hosting for 3 months with Streamline.net.

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Advertising, B2b, B2C, Domain Names, E-mail, eCommerce, Events, Hosting, Internet, ISPs, Services, Web

Technology Adoption Fuels Recovery Tipping Point For UK SMEs

According to research from BT Business, supported by the Design Council and Prince’s Trust, small businesses at the forefront of technology adoption have been the least impacted by the recession, with those most reluctant to bring in new technology suffering the most. Companies with a positive attitude to technology adoption had a 69% better than average experience of the recession, whereas technology laggards suffered a 34% worse recession experience than the average.

The survey was conducted by Vanson Bourne on behalf of BT Business and included responses from more than 7,200 small businesses across the UK.

The 2009 Business Pulse report is the UK’s largest survey of SMEs this year. The survey shows widespread recognition of the importance of technology in reducing costs and increasing efficiency and competitiveness. 30% of businesses said that they have saved money through using technology, 32% use technology to network and obtain advice and 28% have found more customers through its use. Nearly one in five cited the use of technology to support flexible working as having one of the most significant impacts on how they have managed the recession.

The Business Pulse survey identified the positive steps firms have taken to manage the downturn. Nearly twice as many technology innovators have seen an increase in turnover of 10+% compared to those small businesses reluctant to embrace new technology, the majority of which have seen their turnover decrease since the recession began.

Mick Hegarty, strategy director, BT Business said: “The small business community has fought bravely to survive the downturn. Our findings show that many small businesses believe we are now at a tipping point with a recovery almost upon us. We can also see that now more than ever technology has a critical role to play in the future success of these businesses, helping them to find new customers, market themselves more effectively and reduce costs. Investing in better technology is emerging as a measure of success in the future for many businesses.”

In terms of the technologies having the biggest impact, 61% said faster broadband speeds have had a positive impact on their business. Better web sites, better e-commerce and mobile devices were also particularly beneficial. More than 1 in 10 small businesses are looking for more advice and support on using technology to manage their business.

Smaller organisations are also increasingly turning to social media to improve the way they operate with one in five respondents turning to support forums, Twitter and blogs to market their business and attract and retain customers.

Lord Digby Jones, said, “The Business Pulse highlights that optimism is on the rise. Equipping firms with the right technology and support will help tip the economy from recession onto the road to recovery in 2010.”

Full findings of the Business Pulse will be revealed in Small Business Week 2009 and debated by a business leadership panel including business experts Peter Jones and Lord Digby Jones at the launch.

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