The WebSpring Blog

Promote your website!

admin — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 01:19:52 +0000

Have your car sign written with your website address
Make sure you have your website address added to all your printed material; business cards, stationery etc
Include your website address in all advertising you do; websites are a great way to extend the reach of radio, print and tv advertising
Use social media to send people back to your website for more information
Invest in email marketing to promote your services and drive traffic to your site
Use online advertising…it’s super targeted and can be very cost effective
Make sure your website address is in your email signature
List yourself on Google places
Make sure your building has your website address displayed prominently on all signage
If you have a retail premises as well put a flyer in each customer’s bag giving website and social media details

NetValue Ltd is Expanding Again!

admin — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 01:25:30 +0000

Waikato based NetValue Ltd is expanding its business capability again, and has just announced

its merger with DigiCreative, Hamilton-based web design and search optimisation company.

Matthew Whyte, Managing Director of DigiCreative, says “The merger will enable our team to

focus on websites and search engine optimisation, allowing us to leverage NetValueʼs software

development team, technical skills, hosting and administration infrastructure. Weʼll also be able to

offer DigiCreativeʼs customers a broader selection of services and technologies, such as

Facebook campaigns, cloud hosting and software development”

“We are looking forward to DigiCreative joining the NetValue team, bringing their skills and

experience to enhance our already extensive offering” said Mr. Gaylard, CEO, NetValue.

NetValue Ltd was established seven years ago with three staff. It has grown significantly from

these humble beginnings. Today with over 40 staff, the company boasts one of the New

Zealand’s largest online design and development groups with a number of internet related

commercial interests.

The NetValue Group is actively looking to acquire other successful companies in the IT and

online sector to continue this strong and rapid growth. “We are keen to hear from business

owners interested in exploring possibilities with us”, says Mike Leaver, General Manager of

NetValue.

About

Our parent company NetValue Ltd is expanding its business capability again, and has just announced its merger with digiCreative, Hamilton-based web design and search optimisation company.

Matthew Whyte, Managing Director of digiCreative, says “The merger will enable our team to focus on websites and search engine optimisation, allowing us to leverage NetValue’s software development team, technical skills, hosting and administration infrastructure. We’ll also be able to offer digiCreative’s customers a broader selection of services and technologies, such as Facebook campaigns, cloud hosting and software development”

“We are looking forward to digiCreative joining the NetValue team, bringing their skills and experience to enhance our already extensive offering” said Mr. Gaylard, CEO, NetValue.

NetValue Ltd was established seven years ago with three staff. It has grown significantly from these humble beginnings. Today with over 40 staff, the company boasts one of the New Zealand’s largest online design and development groups with a number of internet related commercial interests.

The NetValue Group is actively looking to acquire other successful companies in the IT and online sector to continue this strong and rapid growth. “We are keen to hear from business owners interested in exploring possibilities with us”, says Mike Leaver, General Manager of NetValue.

The 2011 Webspring Guide to Online Christmas Shopping

admin — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 01:04:32 +0000

Shop in the middle of the night, shop in your PJs, shop naked if you really want to…online shopping is the saving grace of busy people (and naturists!) at this time of year. We work with so many fabulous businesses who can help make Christmas easy and stress-free…we decided we should share that info and not keep it all to ourselves!

How about…

T-shirts, Surf gear and more at Raglan Surf

Beads, Gift sets, starter kits, gift vouchers and DIY creativity at Just Bead It

Gorgeous kids and adults designer clothing and accessories from Sisters on London (and they have free shipping)

Beautiful kiwi themed gifts from Bel Merino, clothing, jewellery, sheepskin goodies and more

Gorgeous jewellery from Jewellery Box Online…and you score 20% off when you buy two or more pieces!

Eco friendly gifts are not just for hippies! Check out the gorgeous things at Green Bazaar…aprons, eco bags, books, socks and more!

Speaking of gorgeous…how about vouchers from Images Day Spa in Morrinsville or Unique Skin and Body in Hamilton?

Going potty? Check out everything on offer at Morris and James here.

Know someone who is desperate for straighteners and hair products? Check out Team Seven!

How about handmade natural calendula soaps, creams, ointments and balms…Infused with Nature is the place to go.

Got family into horse racing? You can order the 2011 Racing Annual online here.

Foodie gifts are always popular…check out the range at Cuisine Scene…chutneys, dressings etc and a range of gift baskets too…problem solved!

Buying for babies? Mum 2 Mum have some of the best baby products on the market…bibs, wraps and so much more.

Sporty women on your list? They’ll love SUB activewear (and you’ll love the free delivery)

It’s hard to go wrong with gifts of wine… choose NZ wines for overseas visitors, order the wine for Christmas dinner…Primo Vino make it super easy!

And if you prefer to deal directly with the vineyard, check out Ohui Vineyards in the sunny Coromandel.

I bet you know at least one person who would love to add to their Pandora this Christmas…it’s way too easy to browse and buy online

Toys toys toys…You can find all the toys you (and your small people) need at IQ Toys.

Know a camera geek? A scrapbooker or a family that need a portrait? Snapshot can sort you out with products, vouchers, frames, photo printing…anything photo related really.

Now this one might sound like a slightly odd suggestion but we have people on the team who swear by this stuff…BeeSeal is great for leather, wood furniture and even lip balm!

Taking tea drinking to a whole new level local growers Zealong tea have a range of superb, luxury tea products for sale on their site. Check them out for those people who enjoy the best of everything.

Happy shopping!

8 ways to increase engagement with Facebook business pages

admin — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 23:22:53 +0000

We had a quick brainstorm at our Facebook coffee morning and came up with this list!

Use images with your posts, consider making text posts into images (works well for quotes!)
Use competitions, start small at first (for example Zinc Cafe gives a free coffee voucher to the first person to identify their mystery vegetable)
Be personal…but do it in a way that is ‘on brand’ and communicates your brand message or personality
Be regular…and people will look forward to your updates…Tami Toohey Photography has had lots of success with a ‘Photo of the Day’
Share other people’s content and do it ‘via’ the original source where possible so they get credit
Add your own personal comment when you share things so people know why you’re sharing it
Be altruistic…share community events and info generously, especially when there is no clear benefit to you
Be careful of using too many questions…if you do use them, make sure they’re easy to answer quickly

3 Things You Can Do To Boost Your SEO And Google Rank

admin — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 23:26:00 +0000

We talked a bit about improving your Google visibility by including more phrases in your FAQ area that you think people might be using to search. Generally it is just a matter of being aware of the phrases people might use to search for souvenirs and being careful to include them in your text (in a natural, authentic way). A useful tool for working out what those phrases might be is the Google keyword tool which you can find here: http://bit.ly/9FqW8F

Another thing you can do to make Google like you more is to have lots of incoming links to your site. I notice you already have your business listed in a number of these directories so it would definitely be a worthwhile investment of time to go through and edit the listings to include your website address.

http://yellow.co.nz

http://www.nzpages.co.nz

http://www.gopher.co.nz/

http://www.yalwa.co.nz/

http://www.finditonline.co.nz/

http://www.gonzoz.com/

http://www.hotfrog.co.nz/

http://www.zipleaf.co.nz/

http://www.nzdirectory.co.nz/

http://www.nzwebz.co.nz/

http://www.nzwebseek.co.nz/

http://www.sitefinder.co.nz/

And finally, because Google favours sites with valuable content (measured by how long visitors stay on the page), ‘How tos’ and ‘Tips’ articles are often very worthwhile. Apart from anything people often type whole questions like ‘how to send gifts overseas for Christmas’ into google and if that matches the title of your article you’ll be the top of the list! (This is called ‘long tail SEO’; optimising for those long tail search terms). So you might consider writing up a couple of articles like this one night when there’s nothing on TV. The other advantage of writing some information rich articles is you can get double mileage by submitting them to local newspapers and allied businesses with newsletters or blogs. We’ll certainly give them a push on our Facebook page!

Include more phrases in your FAQ and/or blog area that you think people might be using to search. Generally it is just a matter of being aware of the phrases and being careful to include them in your text (in a natural, authentic way). A useful tool for working out what those phrases might be is the Google keyword tool which you can find here: http://bit.ly/9FqW8F
Have lots of incoming links to your site. Take some time to create a listing for your business on these directory sites; apart from Yellow they all offer free listings. You may already have your business listed in a number of these directories but do the listings include your website address? It pays to check!

http://yellow.co.nz
http://www.nzpages.co.nz
http://www.gopher.co.nz/
http://www.yalwa.co.nz/
http://www.finditonline.co.nz/
http://www.gonzoz.com/
http://www.hotfrog.co.nz/
http://www.zipleaf.co.nz/
http://www.nzdirectory.co.nz/
http://www.nzwebz.co.nz/
http://www.nzwebseek.co.nz/
http://www.sitefinder.co.nz/

3. Write ‘How tos’ and ‘Tips’ articles and publish them on your website. People often type whole questions like ‘how to send gifts overseas for Christmas’ into google and if that matches the title of your article you’ll be the top of the list! (This is called ‘long tail SEO’; optimising for those long tail search terms). The other advantage of writing some information rich articles is you can get double mileage by submitting them to local newspapers and allied businesses with newsletters or blogs. If you’re a Webspring customer and you send us a link to your article, we’re more than happy to give your content a push on our Facebook page!