Scoot Blog

Send Customers Straight To Your Door

It’s all well and good offering discounts and announcing sales to entice customers to your door, but if your online details are incorrect, just whose door will your customers end up at? The rise of online directories has unsurprisingly coincided with the decline in print directory usage, with more people choosing to hide their bulky paper directories at the back of cupboard in favour of a quick internet search for a local business. One thing that IS surprising is the number of UK businesses that have yet to realise just how important it is to make sure that their details are correct and up-to-date across the web, with a staggering 40% of all online business information either incorrect or incomplete.

Appearing in the local search results is an important goal for any business; however incorrect details could result in a loss of potential business. When listing your business on a directory site it is important to remember that the devil really is in the detail. Whether you have yet to list your business, or you are planning an online spring clean, make sure you follow our top tips.

CHECK YOUR OWN WEBSITE

If you’re about to add your details to a business directory the first thing to do is make a quick pit stop at your own business website. Note down the physical address, phone number, URL and even the full name of the business. Ensuring that all directory listings contain exactly the same data is incredibly important and helps promote a business within the search engines. It is easy to make a simple typo but if that typo leads customers to 10 High Street instead of 100 High Street, it could soon prove costly!

DOUBLE CHECK ALL THE ADVERTS YOU HAVE SET UP

The shift from print to online advertising has brought with it several benefits to business, one of which is the ability to press that all important edit button to rectify a mistake. Spending money on an paper based advert is all well and good but when you realise that your phone number is missing an all important digit there’s nothing that you can do. On the other hand, a mistake made on an online listing can be swiftly rectified as long as you take the time to check and double check your listing once it is live!

KEEP CHECKING BACK

Once your online directory listings are live it is important to keep on top of them, make a note of which directories you have submitted your information to and either check yourself or allocate the responsibility to a member of staff. It is rare that all business information will stay the same forever therefore if you do move premises or switch phone numbers, make sure you make the necessary changes as soon as you can. If you don’t have the time to keep track of all of your directory listings NetTrackz is a fantastic way to view and amend all of your listings in one place.

GET SOCIAL

The rise of social media is also playing an important role in making sure that your online directory presence is as strong as possible. If you spend a lot of time tweeting and sharing information on Facebook make sure you check to see if any of your online directory listings include a space to post your profile URL or username. Scoot offers a handy social tab that provides customers with an up-to-date Twitter feed and a Facebook profile view.

Online directories are already proving to be a valuable starting point for anyone looking to search the web for a local business, and are fast becoming a vital asset for small business owners wishing to increase their web presence. With 96% of business owners agreeing that 2012 will see print directory usage among under 50’s plummet to zero*, what better time to get a head start with its online counterpart?

For more information on how to get the most out of online directories why not follow Scoot on Twitter for daily news, hints and tips?

*Touch Local Business Poll 2011

The new agency worker rules, is your business prepared?

The new shake up of agency worker rights and regulations will come into force from the 1st October, but are you clued up on the changes? With over 1.4 million agency workers in the UK alone, it is vital that business owners know exactly what they need to be doing to comply with these new rules.
Some of the changes include;

• After 12 weeks of service in comparable work, agency workers will gain similar rights to full time members of staff, this includes pay, shift allowances, holiday pay, overtime and any bonuses not connected to individual performance.
• From the first day of employment agency workers will be able to use some of the same facilities as staff. This includes canteens, transport and childcare facilities.
• Agency staff will be entitled to any information on internal job vacancies and can apply for them.

The new regulations have been introduced after a survey of agency workers found that they were unhappy about missing out on overtime payments and holiday pay. After long negotiations between the government and unions, the new rules will hopefully create better working conditions for agency workers.

For more information on the new regulations head to the Department for Business Innovation and Skills

Twitter Poll results

Since its launch in 2006, Twitter has taken the world by storm, providing users with a platform to post information, interact with others and keep up-to-date on the latest news.  With over 200 million users as of 2011, Twitter has established itself as a valuable marketing tool for any business. This week we asked local business owners;*

Do you use Twitter to reach more customers?

The poll showed that 62% of business owners did not use Twitter as a way to reach more customers, whilst 38% were taking advantage of the site as a way to attract new customers to their business.

Of the 38% of business owners that did use Twitter to reach their customer, 90% managed their Twitter accounts themselves, with the remaining 10% either allocating time to employees or using an outside agency. When asked about any challenges they face when using Twitter, it seems that many businesses have embraced the word of tweets and retweets with 41% of business owners finding no challenges what so ever. 15% admitted to understanding how the site works but find it hard to decide just how to make the most of the 140 character limit!

Finding time to Tweet

For many business owners, finding the time to start utilising social media can be one of the biggest reasons why many choose to ignore it. Of the 62% of business owners who did not use Twitter to reach their customers, 44% cited having no time as their biggest reason for not logging in whereas 56% of business owners admitted that they just don’t understand how to use it.  Out of the businesses that do use Twitter to reach their customers, 70% spend less than an hour a day updating their customers on their latest news, products and services whilst just 10% rely on a weekly check up.

From this survey it seems that although more businesses were yet to explore just how Twitter could benefit their business, those that do were able to reach their customers without facing any significant challenges and without it eating up too much of their time.

For the latest hints and tips on how to increase your business’ online exposure follow Scoot on Twitter! @Scoot_IT

*290 respondents. Data source- Touch Local

Is your website turning customers away?

Your company website is one of the first things that your customers will see, so why risk them instantly rushing to click the ‘close’ button? So many companies are guilty of committing at least one of our top ten website turn offs, make sure your business is not one of them!

1. Advert overload

There is nothing wrong with having adverts on your website however there is a not so fine line between carefully selected, relevant adverts and glaring banners offering everything from miracle weight loss cures to cheap holiday deals. When accepting adverts on your site it is important to make sure that they fit in with the tone of the site and do not disrupt the user’s browsing experience.

2. Attack of the pop-up

Is there anything more annoying that clicking onto a webpage only to have your screen bombarded with pop up after pop up? Although most people will (hopefully) have an effective pop up blocker in place, those that do fine their browser full of pop up adverts will most probably head for the hills (well the ‘x’ button anyway)

3. Badly written copy

When you are putting together a website it is easy to get carried away with flashy graphics and stylish videos however the most basic aspect of any webpage is what it actually says. If the copy on your website is badly written, this will immediately give your customers a negative view of the company. Spellcheck is definitely your friend when writing content for your site however it helps to double and even triple check for any spelling or grammar errors before you press ‘publish’.

4. Get to the point

Filling your website content with sales jargon and details of all of the awards the company has won may look impressive however what use is telling potential customers that you are a ‘dynamic, innovative, award winning company’ when they don’t know what it is you do? It is easy to get carried away with the synonym tool however this is useless if you omit the most basic information. Ensure that your ‘about me’ page is crystal clear, if in doubt ask an independent party for their opinion.

5. Slow loading

With so many people paying for fast internet, having to wait what can often feel like an age for a webpage to load can have many people instantly reaching for the ‘X’. Experts state that the ideal load time for a webpage should be no longer than 1-2 seconds, if your site is taking longer make sure you take the time to check what is holding it back.

6. Out of date information

Any out of date information on your site could be detrimental to your company. For example, if a customer uses your site to find an address for your store yet you have actually moved premises this will not go down well with the potential customer stood staring into an empty shop window. If your business details change it is vital to update your website as soon as possible. Similarly if you have a special offer or a price section on your site, avoid red faces at the till by keeping them up to date.

7. If you’re not on the list…

If you have ever been stopped on the street and asked for your details to sign up for a catalogue or a charity donation you will understand the frustration of a web user being held back by a ‘registration form’. A web page that requires a user to enter their details before even viewing the home page may gain valuable email data however it will also lose frustrated potential customers.

8. X marks the spot

If you do decide to allow full page adverts on your site, make sure that you do not forget the number one rule! Many companies design their full page adverts to make it as difficult as possible for users to actually close them and see the site that’s hiding underneath. If a customer ends up playing a game of ‘Where’s Wally?’ with the ‘X’ button, chances are they won’t be in a buying frame of mind when they finally get past it.

9. Colour clash

You may think that changing your font colour to neon yellow against a bright white background is ‘cutting edge’ however when your customers have to squint to read about your latest special offers the only thing they will come away with is a headache. Stick with colours and backgrounds that complement each other and are easy to read, there’s a reason why black/white is a classic!

10. Bored now…

Your company could sell self lacing trainers or trees that actually grow £50 notes however if your website is about as interesting as a paper bag your customers will soon lose interest. Keep your content short and snappy, complimenting it with relevant, high quality images. Engage with your customers through a regularly updated blog and communicate with them through your social media profiles.

Your website is your online shop window so clear away the dust, get out the Windolene and make sure your company really shines through!

Many people are talking about 2010 being the year of online video advertising.  Indeed, according to industry analyst, comScore, 2009 saw online videos viewed in the UK around 5 billion times, up nearly 47% on the previous year.  Added to that, online advertising overtook TV advertising expenditure for the first time.  Viewing video online is still growing rapidly and 80% of Internet users have watched video adverts.

So why is this so important to small and medium-sized businesses?  For a start, online video advertising levels the playing field.  Where television advertising was only accessible to large corporations, online video advertising is more affordable than ever before, so it’s accessible to businesses of all sizes.

The bottom line is that online video advertising could dramatically increase the amount of business you get via the Internet.  The audio-visual nature of video communicates your message much more effectively than just text or still images alone, building trust with your audience and delivering a strong call to action.  Again, comScore recorded that 52% of people who viewed an online video advert went on to take action by visiting a website, a physical location or purchasing something online.

As well as appealing to prospective customers, search engines like video, too!  Businesses with a greater depth of online content and rich media (which includes video) are more likely to rank well with the major search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing, and a video attached to your listing will certainly help your business stand out from the competition.  You can also help yourself appear more often in the search engines by ensuring that your video is as widely distributed as possible. Don’t just stop at adding your video to your website: make sure it’s included in the top video websites like YouTube, Yahoo, Myspace and Metacafe, and features within your listings with online business directories.

Getting started with online video advertising, however, can be daunting for the busy proprietor of a small business.  That’s why Scoot, one of the UK’s leading online business directories, has introduced its Online Video Montage product.  Scoot will do it all for you: produce a 30-second video montage with professional voiceover, add it to your listing on scoot.co.uk and distribute it to the top video websites, some of which are mentioned above.  You can also add the video to your own website.  Click here for more details.