QR codes are huge in Japan and across the East, and are slowly beginning to become commonplace in the West. Soon enough you will see QR codes on product packaging, shop displays, printed and billboard advertisements as well as in emails and on websites. The scope of use for QR codes really is huge, particularly for the marketing and advertising of products, brands, services and anything else you can think of.

Why should I care about QR Codes?

With as many as half of us now owning smartphones, and that number growing on a daily basis, QR Codes have the potential to have a major impact upon society and particularly in advertising, marketing and customer service with a wealth of product information just one scan away.

Ordinarily we think of a barcode as a collection of vertical lines; 2D Barcodes or QR Codes are different in that the data is stored in both directions and can be scanned vertically OR horizontally.

How is a QR Code different from a normal 1D UPC barcode?

Whilst a standard 1D Barcode (UPC/EAN) stores up to 30 numbers, a QR Barcode can store up to a massive 7,089! It is this massive amount of data that enables links to such things as videos, Facebook or Twitter pages or a plethora of other website pages.

How do I scan a QR Code?

If you have a smartphone like an iPhone, Android or Blackberry then there a number of different barcode scanner applications such as Red Laser, Barcode Scanner and QR Scanner that can read and decode data from a QR code. The majority of these are completely FREE, and all you have to do once you install one is to use your phone’s camera to scan the barcode, which will then automatically load the encoded data for you.

We’ve included one in this article for you to try, if you have a smart phone give it a go.

For some computer owners, finding enough storage space to hold all the data they’ve acquired is a real challenge. Some people invest in larger hard drives. Others prefer external storage devices like thumb drives or compact discs. Desperate computer owners might delete entire folders worth of old files in order to make space for new information. But some are choosing to rely on a growing trend: cloud storage.

While cloud storage sounds like it has something to do with weather fronts and storm systems, it really refers to saving data to an off-site storage system maintained by a third party. Instead of storing information to your computer’s hard drive or other local storage device, you save it to a remote database. The Internet provides the connection between your computer and the database.

On the surface, cloud storage has several advantages over traditional data storage. For example, if you store your data on a cloud storage system, you’ll be able to get to that data from any location that has Internet access. You wouldn’t need to carry around a physical storage device or use the same computer to save and retrieve your information. With the right storage system, you could even allow other people to access the data, turning a personal project into a collaborative effort.

For more information on cloud storage or to get it set up contact sean@retinamedia.co.uk

Here are 3 simple yet very powerful ways in which to attract a larger viewing audience to your blog platform by the effective use of linking!

Internal Linking

Whenever you are doing any blog posting to your platform it is always recommended to link the new update with others on your site. What you want to do is determine a relevance between the new entry with any others formerly posted. This helps viewers navigate your platform much easier when seeking additional information they might have otherwise overlooked! In addition search engines will find it much easier to navigate the site and the more relevancy they find between and amongst varying updates, the higher your ranking!

Visiting Your Neighbors

It is always a good idea to go out and visit other sites within your niche to see what is happening and capture new ideas. When you land on a blog platform that has a discussion going on that captures your attention, do not be afraid to join. When contributing always try to add value or insight to the discussion and ALWAYS be sure you leave a link back to your own site! This is NOT a guarantee of having other sites linking back to you since your comments need to be sincere, constructive and without blatant self-promoting. On the other hand when they do it opens the door for you to get more traffic back from these sites. If what you got to offer on your own platform is worth their visit you can be sure they will refer their friends as well!

Killer Updates

Everything starts and ends with the quality of your own blog posting. You can invite any and everybody to come take a look, but if they do not like what they see you will not see them again! On the other hand updating your site with useful, informative or otherwise entertaining information will get you noticed! If what you display is good enough, other sites will notice and refer their own readers by linking to a particular post on your platform. In fact ‘resource blogs’ thrive on the quality information that ‘others’ create to update their own sites. The fact is this is yet another source of incoming traffic you did not have to actively invest the effort to generate!

Your blog content is the key to how you will get more traffic which of course is what you will need to operate a successful site! Updating the site with your high quality blog posting efforts is only half the battle, the other being making others aware of what you have posted! No matter what the quality of information that may be found on any blog platform, if you have no viewers your efforts are for naught! The 3 suggestions offered above simply make use of some strategic linking in combination with some already existent content to help you get more traffic to your site! Once people do arrive the rest is up to you insofar as what you have to offer them since it must be good to get them to return!

Network Support Issues

Network support issues range from minor hiccoughs which people can fix themselves to major problems or issues which require you to call in the experts. Minor issues may include simple things such as disconnected or loose cables or wrong password entries. Major issues on the other hand may include problems such as damaged cables, wrong configurations and poor wireless reception. When major issues such as these are experienced a network support company should be brought in order to fix the problem in a professional manner.

Upgrading

There may also be times when a small company realises that they have outgrown their current capabilities and need to upgrade to a more superior network. In such a situation, a network support company will help to identify the right equipment and upgrade the network.

How to Select a Network Support Company

The most important thing to look out for when selecting a network support company is reliability, knowledge and cost. These three are the necessary ingredients to ensure that you receive seamless service.

• Reliability – this is extremely important because an unreliable provider can cost you a lot of money when they fail to restore your network on time. You need to be sure that when you give them a call, they will be at your premises within the shortest time possible or least provide a short term quick fix solution over the phone.
• Knowledge – they need to know their stuff. They must have answers at their fingertips. There is nothing as annoying as a technician who doesn’t know what s/he is doing or can’t seem to figure it out. Their knowledge of networking systems, protocols and procedures must be impeccable. The only way to tell whether their expertise is top notch is to speak to existing clients. If they have references, call and find out whether they are as good as they claim to be.
• Cost – at the end of it all, it is pointless to outsource network support if you end up spending more than if you had simply hired an in-house techie. You must weigh the total cost against what you are getting and compare this against what it would cost you to employ your own IT staff.
• Network support has become an important service to businesses today due to the pivotal role that IT plays in a business. Downtime of even a few hours can lead to massive losses in productivity especially for companies that are IT intensive. It is therefore important to ensure that you identify the right company to assist you in case things go awry.

Niche Web Directories Versus Search Engines

Niche web directories are different from search engines in that they are highly specialized. Go to a craft directory, for example, and type in the words ‘space travel’ and you’ll probably come up with craft supplies to make planetary systems. Very specific! You won’t find NASA’s website or scientific analyzes of recent space shuttle flights in an arts and crafts niche web directory. But go to space or science niche web directory and you may find a link to the craft site that specializes in making model space shuttles.

Niche web directories do relate to search engines in that search engines rank them highly. Due to the intensity of filtering that most directories apply to the sites that they include, search engines highly respect them. This level of respect is good for the page rankings of all the sites listed in the directories. Getting your site listed in appropriate niche web directories provides you with a one way link from a reputable, highly ranked site and that’s one of the most important aspects of the page ranking formula for search engines.

Traffic

When you get web traffic through listings on search engines, you may or may not be what the web surfer was looking for. Yes, there is the chance that the person didn’t know that you existed and, now that she does, will bookmark your site to return for purchases at a later date. However, this is a big ‘if.’ Traffic that you receive as a result of niche web directories will generally be more apt to buy because a higher percentage of them were looking specifically for you and what you have to offer.

Partners and Competitors

Because niche web directories are based around themes or industries, the editors are usually experts in the chosen theme. This helps them to choose neighbor listings that are relevant and high quality, minimizing spam entries and putting you in good company. Just as a customer may search these listings in hopes of finding everything he or she needs to, you, too, can search them to check out your competition. What else is out there? Who is competing for your target audience? Perhaps you will see a niche within a niche that needs attention and fill it.

Also, because links raise your page ranking with search engines, niche web directories are a great way to find companies who sell complimentary products and services with whom you can trade links. If you sell antique car parts, you may want to have a link page that includes links to antique car show sites or fan sites for antique cars. Building up your links to other relevant sites in your industry will help increase your page ranking in search engines and will increase your traffic as well.

Niche Web Directory Options

Some niche web directories are so focused on attracting the most qualified sites that they will pay to list if you apply and qualify. This is always a great sign of a specific, reputable niche web directory. Some will also offer you highlighting options like placing your website listing in bold, brackets, or highlighting it for optimum visibility.

It’s important that webmasters do not ignore the opportunities that niche web directories provide. Exposure, especially in this form, can do nothing but boost your traffic, boost your sales, and boost your profits.

Here are some aspects of a profile page:

Profile Picture: Always put your best foot forward, which means use the most flattering picture as your profile picture. Add Friends: After creating a profile, don’t wait for things to happen. Add new friends every day and the word will spread that you’re on Facebook. Before you know it, you’ll be starting your day by accepting friend requests!

Facebook.Wall: This is your main platform to interact with Facebook users. Post messages on your wall and also comment on members’ activities, though, only when relevant. Photo Albums and Videos: Photos and videos are a great way to showcase the latest collection of your product.

Fan Pages: It enables public figures, organizations and other entities to create an authentic and public presence on Facebook. You can encourage users to become fans of your page and share information with them by uploading pictures, videos, status updates, hosting discussions and displaying wall posts. Unlike Facebook Profiles, Pages are visible to everyone on the internet and are generally better for long-term relationships with your fans, readers or customers.

Groups: Facebook Groups allow people to come together around a common cause or activity to express their views. One of the best features of groups is the ability to send messages directly to members’ Facebook inboxes. It’s a great way to form a community and help your brand image.

Events: Simply put, Facebook Events can help you connect with your target audience and invite them for your events, even if they aren’t on your friend list or one of your fans. Events can be created individually or even from Profiles, Pages. What I like is that Facebook gives you a choice between making the event Public and Private.

Be Unique and Keep Updating: There’s nothing more boring than bland Facebook pages. Add lots of personality andfun to your profile. If possible, try to create applications just for your page. Offer something different so that they keep coming back, instead of letting them wait for updates from you.

Actively Participate Outside Your Page: Find other Facebook pages related to your industry or topic using Facebook Search & start actively commenting on their posts & updates. This is a great way to build relationships in your industry and even adds credibility to your business. If you’re willing to offer free advice on communities and discussions, it will encourage people to check your website out.

Marketplace: With Facebook Marketplace, you can buy and sell anything using the listing service. The Marketplace application page displays all the most recent listings in your networks. The difference between normal listings and the Marketplace is that you don’t see another boring list of business, but they show up as the site’s own updates.

However, there are aspects and features that will apply to every website:

• Navigation – One of the most important features of a website is the ease of navigation. People must be able to wander through your website without difficulty and to be able to find exactly what they’re looking for. If it becomes tricky finding something, they may choose to stop visiting your site. A search bar can be particularly helpful for navigation.
• Appearance – Another important aspect to a website is its appearance. It is always nice for visitors, if the site is aesthetically pleasing. This can vary from the colour combination that you have decided to go for, to images dotted around various webpages, so people are not overloaded with just text.
• Interaction – Depending on your website, it is always good to engage your visitors. For example, this can be done through comments sections, where visitors are able to offer their views on your posts or products. This also allows you to receive some feedback on the website and gain ideas on how to improve it. Another idea is through setting up various polls, where you offer a question and a few answers to pick from. Through interaction, it is possible to create a bond with your visitor and hopefully this will encourage them to return regularly.
• Content – One of the most important aspects of a website is the amount of quality content that is on there. Like with any website, the content has to be interesting and is the feature which will keep people coming to the site on a regular basis. In addition, there should be a balance so the site does not include too little or too much information.

When designing your own website, it is vital that you keep these four features in the back of your mind at all times. In addition, you may wish to look at your competitors for ideas and examples. With this basis to work from, your website stands a good chance of being successful.

Data breaches are bad for business, so every enterprise needs security. With growing demands from customers and regulators for security, now is a good time to invest in protecting your digital world.

WHY SHOULD I BOTHER?

Your business depends on computers and data. They help you advertise products, capture orders, process payments, communicate with customers and suppliers and keep accounts. Good security ensures business is carried out efficiently, correctly and without interruption. It’s a smart investment, helping you to:

• Avoid losses from theft (of data or equipment)
• Save time wasted dealing with security incidents
• Recover faster from equipment failures
• Retain customers and win new business
• Meet your legal and compliance obligations

From a legal point of view, security is mandatory if you handle sensitive personal data or process payment cards. Customers expect it, and many supervisory bodies demand it, especially in financial services, healthcare and government sectors. A good reputation for security will help you win and retain business.

AREN’T FIREWALLS AND ANTI-VIRUS ENOUGH?

By applying a small number of smart, simple measures you can substantially reduce your security risks. Make sure, however, that you don’t leave any big gaps in your defences. Firewalls and anti-virus protection are essential, but they are not enough. In addition to technical measures, you need safeguards against physical security breaches, whether deliberate or accidental.

If you’re a medium sized business or have aspirations to grow, you’ll also have to define responsibilities, set standards and check things get done. The need for policies, procedures and audits grows with the size of the organisation. But aim to strike the right balance between applying common sense and following procedures. A simple nine-step approach to security is recommended.

NINE STEPS TO SECURE YOUR DIGITAL WORLD

Here are nine steps, in order of priority, for implementing security in a small or medium sized business.

STEP 1: COMMIT TO SECURITY

A simple but powerful first step is to set out your commitment to information security in a written declaration. This shows you’re serious and communicates the fact to staff and stakeholders. It can take the form of a formal security policy, or a simple, signed statement, stating that your enterprise aims to apply its best endeavours to safeguard sensitive data and protect critical business systems from security risks.

STEP 2: UNDERSTAND YOUR OBLIGATIONS

Next, ensure that employees who handle sensitive information or control critical systems are aware of legal, regulatory or commercial requirements for security, including the consequences of failing to meet them. One example is data protection and privacy legislation, which requires everyone handling sensitive, personal data to safeguard it according to strict principles. A further example is the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) which requires retailers who process payment cards to:

• Build and Maintain a Secure Network
• Protect Cardholder Data
• Maintain a Vulnerability Management Program
• Implement Strong Access Control Measures
• Regularly Monitor and Test Networks
• Maintain an Information Security Policy

STEP 3: IDENTIFY AND ADDRESS SECURITY RISKS

To select the most appropriate measures for your money, you need to understand the security risks to your business assets or activities. Consider your exposure to security threats, such as:

• Theft of data or equipment
• Espionage
• Fire or floods
• Equipment failures
• Computer viruses and ‘malware’
• Computer hacking

Assess how vulnerable your systems, equipment and premises might be to these threats, and identify the best means of reducing the risk.

STEP 4: ESTABLISH RULES AND POLICIES

Draw up a list of “Do’s and Don’ts” to ensure your employees follow the essential rules needed to safeguard sensitive data and critical business services. Ensure these rules are regularly reviewed and updated. Examples might include:

• choose strong passwords and change them regularly
• lock away laptops and sensitive data when the office is vacated
• take regular back-up copies of your data
• apply critical security updates and anti-virus updates promptly
• share customer data with outside parties
• leave mobile devices unattended in public places

In a larger business, a written policy, setting out principles and objectives in a more structured manner is a better source of guidance for managers and staff. Procedures for key security processes, such as controlling access rights, issuing equipment and taking back-up copies, should also be defined, along with responsibilities for keeping them current.

STEP 5: DEFINE AND ASSIGN RESPONSIBILITIES

Assign roles and responsibilities for safeguarding key assets (such as premises, equipment and data) and carrying out security activities (such as taking back-ups or managing access rights). Deputies should be assigned for essential tasks, to ensure they are carried out during leave and absences.

STEP 6: APPLY ESSENTIAL COUNTERMEASURE

Ensure there are measures in place to protect equipment and data from theft, damage and unauthorised access. They should include the following.

• Physical measures for premises, such as access control, intruder alarms and lockable cabinets for sensitive or valuable assets.
• Procedural controls, such as choosing passwords, taking back-ups and locking away papers and laptops when offices are vacated.
• Technical measures such as firewalls, anti-virus software and back-up devices. It’s vital also to ensure critical security updates are promptly applied.

Security technology can be used to safeguard sensitive data and prevent or detect potential incidents. Examples of security products that are becoming increasingly essential for everyday business use include:

• Strong authentication devices for remote access by home or mobile users
• Hard disk encryption systems to protect data on laptops
• Intrusion prevention systems to block incoming attacks from the Internet
• Vulnerability management technologies to monitor the exposure of networked computers to potential attack

STEP 7: DEVELOP A DISASTER SURVIVAL PLAN

Prepare your enterprise for hazards such fire, flooding or equipment failures. Advance thinking and preparation will reduce the damage to business operations and speed up recovery from failures.

• Identify alternative working arrangements, such as fallback sites and systems
• Draw up a simple plan and keep up-to-date back-ups of essential data and software at a secure, remote location
• Nominate a crisis team to enable a fast response without duplication of effort
• Assign responsibilities for dealing with emergency services, contacting customers and getting fallback systems up and running.

STEP 8: ESTABLISH SECURITY OVERSIGHT

In busy working environments, security tasks can be overlooked. Implement checks to prevent this happening. Larger businesses might consider a more formal form of governance, with objectives, performance measures and audits.

STEP 9: EDUCATE YOUR STAFF

All employees should be educated in basic security practices, and regularly reminded of relevant security risks, as well as their own responsibilities. Begin with induction sessions for new staff and maintain awareness through regular briefings or bulletins.
A range of educational material is available on the Internet. It costs nothing to point your staff in the right direction. Take a look at Get Safe Online (www.getsafeonline.org) for a good source of free advice.

Think about it, when you do a search online do you look at any of the results that are on the second or third page of results? Most people don’t. Even if you do go to page 2 or 3, you probably don’t go much further.

So if you choose the right keywords to rank for and you end up on page one of the results, you will get a lot of visitors to your site. This is the whole concept behind search engine marketing keyword.

Of course, with this type of strategy, one of the most important things you can do is to find the right keywords to optimize your site around. And this all begins by doing keyword research.

For SEO you want very targeted and relevant keywords. If your website is all about bird houses, you don’t want to use keywords that aren’t relevant. If your site has nothing to do with bird watching, for example, you don’t want to use that as a keyword.

One of the things that search engines look for when ranking sites is relevance. How relevant is your site and how on target is the content of your site to the keywords you are trying to rank for? If you are very targeted you may get rewarded with a high ranking, if you aren’t targeted, you will be “punished” by a low ranking.

If your site is seasonal make sure you account for that in your marketing efforts. To use my example above about bird houses (and I apologize right now if I’m wrong in my next example, it is just an example) lets say that you decide to highlight bird houses for cardinals during the winter months.

You can then switch back and target bird houses for robins in the spring. You get the idea, keep it fresh, and current.

Keep an eye of your traffic levels. There may come a time when one of the keywords that had worked really well for you no longer pulls in the same amount of traffic. There are many reasons for this but the most common is that your niche has more competitors and more people are trying to rank for the same keyword (and maybe doing it better than you are).

When setting up your search engine marketing keyword campaigns, remember that your success will lie almost exclusively with choosing the right keywords. Use tools to help you with the process but ultimately, just try to think like your customers.

The important thing we should know about search engines is that they only index “Text”. This should be well understood while optimizing a website. There are many small things that we need to do to get better ranking and we should remember that every little bit helps. There is no one thing that will get you better ranking, instead it has a bunch of small things that we need to do to achieve excellent ranking.

We should optimize more than one page of the website to achieve high ranking. We need to optimize home page for one set of keyword and other pages for different keyword. We can leave pages which don’t have content like the “contact us” or “privacy policy” page. Also optimize pages that we want people to find which also have content.

On-Site Optimization is what can be done on the pages of a website to maximize its performance in the search engines for target keywords related to on-site content. It stands for all the techniques and methods used on your website that is hosted on a server. On-site Optimization has an effect on your website listing in natural results. On-site factors are controlled by coding on website pages. But note on-site optimization can only boost the ranking by several positions it’s the off-site optimization that can help achieve top ranking.

Off-site Optimization is what can be done off the pages of a website to maximize its performance in search engines for selected keywords related to the on-page content and keywords in off-page direct links. Off- site Optimization consists of all the ranking factors that are not on the web page, that the search engines look at when ranking a website. It is the most important part in search engines optimization because it gives back links to your website and it requires a lot of work on a daily basis. It helps to maximize website performance in search engine for selected keywords.

If done appropriately SEO can help expand business and increase profits.