Search Engine Optimisation in 3 Easy Steps
Increase Your Web Traffic Fast Via Search Engine Optimisation!
To help drive more customers to your website, it is key you maximise the impact from search, through SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). Improved SEO enables your website to be discovered, and to rank with relevance, so that it appears at the top of the search engine results. The process of optimisation is not a one-time process – but rather one that requires maintenance, tuning, and continuous testing and monitoring. The following guide is a three-step strategy to help you achieve this.
Step 1: Target Market Business Analysis
• Setting Goals and Objectives
Before you get started, ensure that you can measure the ROI (return on investment) from any changes you implement, deciding what is the expected number of visitors you will need to your site, vs the baseline today. This is the measure that you can then track from. Get specific on the goals to determine and set measures for specific pages visited and product / services reviewed.
• Keywords
Keywords are absolutely critical for getting located. These work through setting your “meta sets”, visible text and code. It is important to examine the content keywords and search engine ranking of competitive websites to assess the impact. There are tools to help such as Semrush.com. Once you have the list, then look to prioritise the targeted search term related, to what you expect your customers to look for. Keep this more in the framing of natural language, rather than specific products you have – i.e. “looking for a parasol” rather than “name of brand parasol”. Think what you would type into a search engine. People rarely search to find a specific business – so you need to think of solving a customer problem, or meeting a customer need. Test this with your customers and amend accordingly.
• Keyword Analysis
Keyword analysis follows, and this helps to further identify a targeted list of key words and phrases. Review competitive lists, and other industry sources, as well as prioritising keywords and phrases, plurals, singulars, and misspellings.
Step 2: Content Optimisation and Submission
• Create page titles
Keyword-based titles help to establish page theme and direction for your keywords.
• Create meta tags
Meta description tags can influence click-throughs but aren’t directly used for rankings. (Google doesn’t use the keywords tag anymore).
• Place strategic search phrases on pages
Integrate selected keywords into your website source code and existing content on designated pages. Make sure to apply a suggested guideline of one to three keywords/phrases per content page, and add more pages to complete the list. Ensure that related words are used as a natural inclusion of your keywords. It helps search engines to quickly determine what your page is about. A natural approach to this works best. In the past, 100 to 300 words on a page was recommended. Many tests show that pages with 800 to 2,000 words can outperform shorter ones. In the end, the users, the marketplace, content and links will determine the popularity and ranking numbers.
• Develop new sitemaps for Google and Bing
Make it easier for search engines to index your website. Create both XML and HTML versions. An HTML version is the first step. XML sitemaps can easily be submitted via Google and Bing webmaster tools.
• Submit website to directories (limited use)
Professional search marketers don’t submit the URL to the major search engines, but it’s possible to do so. A better and faster way is to get links back to your site naturally. Links get your site indexed by the search engines. However, you should submit your URL to directories such as Yahoo! (paid), Business.com (paid), and DMOZ (free). Some may choose to include AdSense (google.com/AdSense) scripts on a new site to get their Google Media bot to visit. It will likely get your pages indexed quickly.
Step 3: Continuous Testing and Measuring
• Test and measure
Analyse search engine rankings and web traffic to determine the effectiveness of the programmes you’ve implemented, including an assessment of individual keyword performance. Test the results of changes, and keep changes tracked in an Excel spreadsheet, or whatever you’re comfortable with.
• Maintenance
Ongoing addition and modification of keywords and website content is necessary to continually improve search engine rankings, so growth doesn’t stall or decline from neglect. You also want to review your link strategy and ensure that your inbound and outbound links are relevant to your business. A blog can provide you with the necessary structure and ease of content addition that you need. Your hosting company can typically help you with the setup/installation of a blog.
Lotuswise Chartered Accountants and Business Consultants can help you and your business succeed. To find out how, please contact us. To also get even more useful business and finance information and tax advice tips, check out our app on Google or Apple stores.
No Deal Brexit? What Does This Mean For Your Business?
Is Your Business Ready For A No Deal Brexit?
As you know, on 13 March, MPs voted to rule out a no deal Brexit. And until something else is decided, no deal Brexit is still the default position. And so, no deal Brexit has now become even more of a possibility, since Parliament has yet again rejected Theresa May’s Brexit deal last week. Subsequently, the UK has until April 12 to come up with an alternative to leaving without any deal. As the Commons’ failure to approve a deal, now means that Article 50 can only be extended until that date. So, what does this mean for your business, should the UK leave the EU without a deal?
No Deal Post-Brexit VAT Preparations
If you’re a UK VAT-registered business trading with the EU, you’re being urged by HMRC to be prepared for the possibility of a no deal Brexit. In this respect, HMRC sent letters to 145,000 companies, of which you may well be one, advising to take 3 actions ahead of the leave date:
- You need to register for a UK Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number.
- You need to decide if a customs agent will be used to make your import and/or export declarations, or if declarations will be made by your business, via software which is compatible with HMRCs systems.
- You need to contact the organisations responsible for moving your goods (such as haulage firms), to determine if your business will need to supply additional information to complete safety and security declarations, or if you will need to submit these declarations yourself.
In fact, a report jointly published by HMRC and the National Audit Office (NAO) recently revealed that approximately 55 million customs declarations are currently made by British businesses every year. This figure may rise to 255 million when the UK leaves the EU.
Simplified Import Procedures In The Event of No Deal Brexit
In addition, HMRC has implemented a simplified import and export system. So, in the event of a no deal scenario, a mechanism to ensure that your goods move to and from the UK, with a reduced administrative burden for your business is in place, in terms of the documentation required at the port of entry and exit. Hence making it easier for your business, if you import from the EU using roll on roll off (RO-RO) facilities. This development will be of interest to you, if your business is involved in intra-EU trade. And in particular, if your business goods arrive and depart from one of the UK’s RO-RO locations, for example, Dover or the Channel Tunnel. You need to consider if you wish to make use of this provision. Likewise, HMRC has advised that you will need to register your business to use Transitional Simplified Procedures (TSP), effective since 7 February 2019 via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/register-for-simplified-import-procedures-if-the-uk-leaves-the-eu-without-a-deal. Altogether, these simplified transitional procedures will reduce the amount of information you need to give in an import declaration, when your goods are crossing the border. They do this by allowing you to defer giving a full declaration and paying the relevant customs duty.
Guidance Tool
The government has also devised a guidance tool to help prepare your business for the UK leaving the EU. You can use this tool to find out:
- What your business may need to do to prepare for the UK leaving the EU
- What’s changing in your industry
- Information on specific rules and regulations
You’ll need to answer 7 simple questions to get the relevant guidance for your business.
Lotuswise Chartered Accountants and Business Consultants can help you and your business succeed. To find out how, please contact us. To also get even more useful business and finance information and tax advice tips, check out our app on Google or Apple stores.
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Self Employed: 5 Steps To Help You Set Up
Self Employed?
If you’ve made the decision to move towards working for yourself, you should consider if you want to be a sole trader, a shareholding director of a limited company, or trade as a partnership. Once you’ve decided, you will need to inform HMRC. So, if you choose to go self employed or enter into a partnership, you will need to advise HMRC, so they can register you to receive a self assessment tax return. In addition, you will also need to tell them if you form a limited company. And, as a self employed person (including a partner), you will likely be required to pay income tax and Class 2 and 4 National Insurance contributions, under self assessment.
1. Self employed start up costs
Starting up a new business can be a costly exercise, and you’ll need to open a new business bank account for all your future work-related expenditure. It is vital you always keep records of accounts, to help you ensure you report the correct taxable profit to HMRC, after the end of any tax year.
Budgeting and forecasting
When you’re writing your financial forecast for your business, you should consider the following:
- Do you have access to funds you can use to start up your business?
- Do you have savings to carry you through periods of no income or unexpected expenses?
- Are there any life changing events on the horizon, such as moving to a new house or having a new baby?
- When employing staff, have you considered sick pay and annual leave?
2. Are there any self employed credits or grants available?
You also have to understand if you’re eligible to claim any self employed benefits, tax credits or even grants. You can check this easily by accessing organisations like the Citizens Advice Bureau or Gov.UK websites, to establish what you might be eligible for.
3. What about Location?
If you go self employed, you’ll need to decide where to locate your new business. You could run it from the comfort of your own home, or you may need to rent or purchase another property, as your place of work. If you decide to rent business premises, it is vital you check if there are any rules in place, restricting business activity. What’s more, you also need to check if the environment is suitable for the type of work to take place. If you are renting an office space, you must ensure you know your monthly costs, outside of your initial rental payments. Costs such as services, or any upcoming upgrades to the building, which may increase the rental costs in the future. In addition, don’t forget that, if you convert part of your home into businesses premises, you may be required to pay business rates, on top of any existing council tax commitment. You will also be asked to pay these rates, if you convert any part of your property into a shop/workshop. This will also be the case if client visits become a daily occurrence and you have dedicated rooms in your home, solely for business purposes.
4. Insurance
Check your insurance policy and, if in any doubt, call your broker to see if you need to take out additional cover for any business activity within your household. This isn’t an expensive addition, and most companies will combine additional cover into one domestic and business policy. If your business requires clients to enter your property, you may be advised to take out public liability insurance, another inexpensive addition to your insurance policy. You may also be required to hold a licence, depending on the nature of your business.
5. Business name
When deciding if you’re going to use a trading name for your business, you’ll need to be aware of any restrictions in place. If you’re thinking of forming a company, you can check if your proposed company name is already in use by using the Companies House name availability checker. If your business is to have a website, you’ll need to check if there are suitable domains available for your business name. Once everything’s in place, you can get to work on your new business, and enjoy working for yourself.
Lotuswise Chartered Accountants and Business Consultants can help you and your business, setting up as self employed, forming a limited company, and selecting the right cloud accounting solutions, such as QuickBooks. To find out how, please contact us. To also get even more useful business and finance information and tax advice tips, check out our app on Google or Apple stores.
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Google Search Results: How To Keep Your Website Relevant
Google Search: When it comes to online search, Google is still the world’s most popular search engine. Google’s search engine algorithm is continuously being updated, so how do you keep your firm’s website up to date, so that you show up in online searches?
More than 2.3 million Google searches are conducted every single minute. The top 5 search results on Google get over 70% of the click through traffic. There is no point your business being on the second or third page of search results – people don’t tend to look that far. Your firm needs to be in the top half of the first page in order to allow potential customers to find your business online.
Mobile Search
Mobile search is also on the rise – 88% of smart-phone users are searching on Google. As such, you should make sure that your firm’s website is optimised for smart-phone screens as well as computers and tablets.
Google Search Console
Google offers a free service called Google Search Console, which allows you to submit your website to Google for indexing. And, you can also use the tool to identify any potential search related errors on your site, view the kinds of search queries that are driving traffic to your site, etc.
Google My Business
You can also link your firm’s website to Google My Business. As this can help your website to appear in relevant geographic search results. Google will then send a postcard, to verify your business’s physical address, and your firm will show up if people are searching for a business like yours in their local area.
Your Website Speed
The speed at which your website loads also affects the way it is ranked by Google. That’s why Google ranks faster loading sites higher than slow websites. So, you can make your site load faster by minimising the size of image files and using fast hosting services.
Keywords, keywords and keywords
Finally, ensure that you use relevant keywords in your page titles, meta descriptions, URLs and throughout your actual content. And make sure you don’t use too many keywords as this can actually have a negative effect on your site’s Google ranking. If in doubt, consider hiring in an external consultant to help you.
Lotuswise Chartered Accountants and Business Consultants can help you and your business succeed. To find out how, please contact us. To also get even more useful business and finance information and tax advice tips, check out our app on Google or Apple stores.
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This Is What Really Motivates Employees
We all work to get paid but is money alone enough to motivate your employees?
Regardless of the type of business you run, you need to pay your employees fairly and in line with your competitors. If you don’t pay your people in line with the market, it can act as a de-motivator. However, once your pay scales are in line with industry norms, money alone isn’t really enough to keep your employees performing at a high level…
Pay, Freedom and flexible working
Paying in line with the market tends to achieve a rather neutral position, where there is no dissatisfaction among your employees, but this does not translate into them being more motivated. In fact, various studies have shown that employees place a high value on freedom. Indeed, they value flexible working, the opportunity to work from home when they want to, and they want to work for businesses that invest in the technology that allows them to do this.
Business is 24/7 when you take full advantage of flexible working!
Business is not just 9 to 5 anymore – it’s 24/7. So why should your employees be tied to a 9 to 5 work day? Businesses can benefit from this flexibility – projects led by agile workers tend to be completed quicker. Progress doesn’t just happen between 9am and 5pm. When the pressure is on, your flexible employees will stay late and get the job done. Conversely when things are quiet, they want the flexibility to go to the gym or do the school run. Modern professionals may well choose to work for an employer that has embraced agile working over and above a business that pays a little bit higher than market rate, but doesn’t offer flexible working.
Flexible working and purpose
Assuming your firms pay is in line with the market, your employees will be focused on job satisfaction. Again, various research studies have shown that high performing employees are motivated by purpose. They want to understand how their work contributes to the overall success of the business.
Flexible working, purpose and job satisfaction
They also want to get involved in projects and take responsibility for delivering their objectives. If you give people the opportunity to work on meaningful projects in a way that makes them feel they are contributing to the success of the firm, they will be more motivated. As far as recruitment is concerned, we are in the midst of a war for talent. The best people will stay with the businesses that offer them job satisfaction.
So, does money really motivate employees?
Yes and no. There is an expectation that they should be paid in line with the market. Beyond that, they will focus on job satisfaction, flexible working, etc.
Lotuswise Chartered Accountants and Business Consultants can help you and your business succeed. To find out how, please contact us. To also get even more useful business and finance information and tax advice tips, check out our app on Google or Apple stores.
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Brexit Uncertainty: How To Manage In These Worrying Times
Managing Brexit Uncertainty
Due to Brexit, 2019 looks set to be a year filled with uncertainty for businesses. The future is always unknown, but this year managers will need to navigate some particularly choppy waters, due to market uncertainty and global political turmoil.
Focus on what you can control
As a manager, you can always control your response, attitude, behaviour, actions and words. You can choose to be proactive and inquisitive rather than paralysed. In these times of Brexit uncertainty, the best managers step up and embrace their authority. When times are uncertain, your team wants you to lead the way. Bring your team with you on the journey, ask them for their opinion, include them in your planning conversations and challenge them to come up with new solutions.
Cash is king
In uncertain times, the old adage that “cash is king” carries even more weight. Cash is the lifeblood of your business, and poor cash flow management kills businesses during tough economic times. Market volatility also creates opportunities. If you have cash or credit available to take advantage of these opportunities when they present themselves, you may be able to move quickly and move your business forward. As such, good cash flow management can allow you to cash in and manage Brexit uncertainty effectively.
Embrace change and adapt
As your particular market changes, there will be opportunities for you to adapt. For example, if your customers have less budget to spend on buying products and services in your sector, it might be an opportunity for you to introduce a lower priced “value offering.” You could even go one step further and change your pricing model. For example, you could move clients to monthly retainers, rather than charging a once-off annual fee. Hence capitalising on Brexit uncertainty.
Diversify
If you depend on one big client to keep your business going, you should consider how to diversify your client base. Sometimes even giant businesses fail during tough times. If your biggest client goes out of business, you don’t want to be collateral damage. Just like in investing, the key is to have a diversified portfolio. Precisely because of Brexit uncertainty, now could be a good time to look at trying to win some new clients in order to make your business more resilient.
Lotuswise Chartered Accountants and Business Consultants can help you make sense out of Brexit uncertainty and potentially worrying times and also help your business succeed. To find out how, please contact us. To also get even more useful business and finance information and tax advice tips, check out our app on Google or Apple stores.
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MTD for VAT Pilot: This Is What You Should Know
MTD for VAT Pilot is Now… Open to All
You may have heard that, on 10 January 2019, HMRC announced that their Making Tax Digital for VAT (MTDfV) pilot was now open. As such, it is accessible to all those mandated to keep digitally compliant records and to file MTD-compatible VAT returns, for return periods commencing after 31 March 2019. Plus, in an email issued, HMRC stated that: “this marks a significant milestone towards our ambition to become one of the most digitally advanced tax administrations in the world.” And, HMRC boasts that over one hundred VAT-registered businesses, of which you may well be one, are now signing up to the scheme on a daily basis, with more than 3,500 having already joined.
Testing time
Even though, like the majority, you may not need to file up your first MTD-complaint return until early August, the department wants you and “as many eligible businesses as possible to join the pilot ahead of the mandation of the service in April”, as it will provide assurance that the service works for you and all types of customers.
What does it mean?
This means that, if you are a VAT-registered entity, with an annual VAT-able turnover in excess of the £85,000 compulsory registration threshold – i.e. you are mandated to onboard from April – you will now have the chance to test your accounting system, prior to April. If you are in the minority of compulsory registered businesses – i.e. with the most complex VAT affairs – you would have had your mandation date deferred to your first return period, starting on or after 1 October 2019.
VAT groups now able to join the pilot
In addition, HMRC has also opened its MTDfV pilot to VAT groups with immediate effect. What that means is that if you are within a VAT group, you are now able to start testing the service – even though you are not mandated to join until October. The department stated that it “will continue to update you as we open up the pilot to the remainder of the population who are mandated to join from October.”
Want to know more?
You can find further details in HMRC’s updated guidance for businesses, updated guidance for agents, and the stakeholder partner packs on GOV.UK.
Lotuswise Chartered Accountants and Business Consultants can help you make sense out of the MTD for VAT scheme and also help your business succeed. To find out how, please contact us. To also get even more useful business and finance information and tax advice tips, check out our app on Google or Apple stores.
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How To Overcome Your Fear Of Failure
One of the most common things holding us back from achieving our potential in business is our fear of failure.
Fear of failure is often linked to our human nature: to fear the unknown. When we push ourselves outside of our comfort zones, whether in business or in our personal lives, it is pretty normal to feel some degree of stress and anxiety.
We Are What We Do
In business, many of us consider our work to be representative of who we are as a person. As such, we can often view a failure in the workplace as a personal failure. This fear can often manifest itself in such a way that, we avoid reaching for new targets or striving towards new goals, in case we fail. We fear that such a failure, in such a public way, could change the way others view us, and indeed how we view ourselves. This can result in us holding ourselves back, because we fear failure.
No such thing as failure, only learning opportunities
It can be helpful to refocus and see “failures” as “learning opportunities”. Some of the world’s greatest entrepreneurs, including the likes of Richard Branson, have failed several times in business. However, they view these failures as learning opportunities. Each time you fall over, you must learn how to get back up and apply that learning next time around.
Change the way you think
Change the way you think about your goals and objectives. Don’t frame each business objective in order to avoid a potential failure. This is setting the objective in a negative context. Instead, set your objectives in a positive context. For example, set an objective to explore a new potential business case in order to learn about that opportunity. The goal is to learn, rather than to create, a new part of the business.
Visualisation is key
Finally, it can be helpful to visualise obstacles. Think of a situation in which you are afraid of failure. Visualise yourself hitting an obstacle, allow yourself to feel the fear, and then see yourself moving forward. Next, spend a few minutes planning how to overcome whatever obstacles may stand in your way. Then see yourself succeeding despite these obstacles. You need to train your brain to focus on the solution, rather than the fact that there is an obstacle in your way!
Lotuswise Chartered Accountants and Business Consultants can help you and your business succeed. To find out how, please contact us. To also get even more useful business and finance information and tax advice tips, check out our app on Google or Apple stores.
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Marketing Trends 2019: This Is What You Should Know
Marketing Trends To Watch Out For 2019
As we leave 2018 behind, it’s worth taking stock of this period of increased regulation on customer data protection and privacy – in parallel with its acceleration in marketing technology capabilities. Here, we give you an overview of what to consider in terms of the evolving expectations, demands on customer journeys, and the impact they may have on the marketing aspect of your business. Here are the top three marketing trends and strategies for you to consider for 2019.
1. Evolving customer experience and journeys
2018 brought us more paths through which customers can satisfy their ideal approach to buying. As such, you need to take into account the onset of conversational user interfaces, through voice search and recognition, from the likes of Apple Siri and Amazon Alexa. Have you then considered how this is adding a key customer touchpoint your marketing approach needs to adopt and adapt to? Such examples help fuel the customer need for convenience, being able to request what they want, when they want it, and how.
Marketing Data
As data becomes richer in terms of what we understand about customer behaviour, the personalisation of the customer experience can become deeper – albeit at a time when the use of data is being re-evaluated by companies, such as Facebook. If you are continuing with the over-used approach of marketing to “millennials”, this will limit how your brand or customer experience connects with twenty- to thirty-year olds today – as building your marketing approach will be subject to change in observing this consumer group. There is a huge opportunity in blending customer data from silos, such as combining what you know from your business data on your customers, with that which is coming from social data. Your marketing teams will need to best balance the careful use of client data, segmenting based on specific personas, and on a personalised experience on how your customers wish to interact.
2. Be more than a service. Be a trusted brand with values
“Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room” (Jeff Bezos)
If you have not yet positioned your brand to a set of values, you should do so in 2019. The majority of today’s customers are belief-driven buyers, harnessing their brand loyalty to what the company stands for. Whether that is helping others, trust, quality, innovation etc. Although there maybe a danger of alienating some of your customers, your brand values can deepen your customer-company relationship at an emotional level.
3. Manage your reputation; be prepared for a crisis
“It takes twenty years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it” (Warren Buffett)
With Google, if a result is based on an established view, it will find its way on to the first page. Taking this approach, if the sentiment about your brand is a bad one, intentionally or accidentally, then this may cause significant collateral damage for a long time – if a suitable response is not deployed. With the depth of opportunity for brands to advertise on nearly every website and platform consumers use, negative reviews can proliferate rapidly. And it is essential you’re able to respond to help mitigate, correct, or address the perception. For example, you might be listening to what people are saying online and making adjustments accordingly. No company is safe from reputation or brand crises and, as such, you should have a dedicated team owner to manage such an unfortunate event.
Lotuswise Chartered Accountants and Business Consultants can help you and your business succeed. To find out how, please contact us. To also get even more useful business and finance information and tax advice tips, check out our app on Google or Apple stores
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Why choosing the right location for your business matters
How Do You Choose The Right Location For Your Business?
When you consider Amazon’s recent decision on the new location for their business, it makes you think about some aspects to consider, when making a similar investment of your own. Your location should be consistent with your particular style and image. If your business is retailing, do you want a traditional store, for example? Or maybe you’d like to operate from a kiosk or a cart you can move from place to place? Let’s look into a few aspects of business location and why they matter so much…
1. Who Are Your Customers?
Demographics play an important part in your choice of location. So, consider who your customers are, and, how important their proximity might be to you. If you are a retailer or some service provider, this is a critical consideration. But if you are any other types of businesses, however, this might not be as important. Research and review the community in which you want to establish your business and ask yourself: is there a sufficient percentage of that population that matches your customer profile? But you should also look into communities that are largely dependent on a particular industry for their economy, as a downturn could be bad for business. In addition, consider any of the work force skills required. Are there people with these skills in the community? With sufficient housing, schools, recreational opportunities, and culture?
2. What Is The Footfall, Traffic And Parking like?
If you are a retail business, then consider where shoppers are likely to pass by, rather than being hidden away. Try monitoring traffic outside of the location at various times throughout the day. Then assess how accessible the facility will be for customers, employees and suppliers. If requiring deliverables, try to establish whether suppliers are able to easily and efficiently courier. You also need to make sure there is convenient parking for both customers and employees. As with foot traffic, you also need to monitor the facility at various times and days, and see how demand for parking fluctuates.
3. Are There Any Competitors / Other Services?
Another important factor you need to take into account is: are competing companies located nearby? As this could sometimes be good. Like for example for industries where comparison shopping is popular, as you can catch the overflow from existing businesses. If a nearby competitor is only going to make your marketing job tougher, look elsewhere. In addition, consider what other businesses and services are in the vicinity: is there any benefit from customer traffic, is there a suitable range of places and restaurants for employees? You might also want to think about the location of other facilities nearby, such as child care, convenient shops, etc.
4. What About The Infrastructure, Utilities And Costs?
You really want to check the building you’re interested in, has the actual infrastructure you need – adequate electrical, air conditioning, and telecommunications services – to support your business requirements and meet your present and future needs. For utilities, check what’s actually included in your rent, as this can be a major part of your expenses. Lastly, verify the medium-to-long-term rental expectations and commitments, so you can mitigate any potential rental rise.
Lotuswise Chartered Accountants and Business Consultants can help you and your business succeed. To find out how, please contact us. To also get even more useful business and finance information and tax advice tips, check out our app on Google or Apple stores.
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Search Engine Optimisation in 3 Easy Steps
Increase Your Web Traffic Fast Via Search Engine Optimisation!
To help drive more customers to your website, it is key you maximise the impact from search, through SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). Improved SEO enables your website to be discovered, and to rank with relevance, so that it appears at the top of the search engine results. The process of optimisation is not a one-time process – but rather one that requires maintenance, tuning, and continuous testing and monitoring. The following guide is a three-step strategy to help you achieve this.
Step 1: Target Market Business Analysis
• Setting Goals and Objectives
Before you get started, ensure that you can measure the ROI (return on investment) from any changes you implement, deciding what is the expected number of visitors you will need to your site, vs the baseline today. This is the measure that you can then track from. Get specific on the goals to determine and set measures for specific pages visited and product / services reviewed.
• Keywords
Keywords are absolutely critical for getting located. These work through setting your “meta sets”, visible text and code. It is important to examine the content keywords and search engine ranking of competitive websites to assess the impact. There are tools to help such as Semrush.com. Once you have the list, then look to prioritise the targeted search term related, to what you expect your customers to look for. Keep this more in the framing of natural language, rather than specific products you have – i.e. “looking for a parasol” rather than “name of brand parasol”. Think what you would type into a search engine. People rarely search to find a specific business – so you need to think of solving a customer problem, or meeting a customer need. Test this with your customers and amend accordingly.
• Keyword Analysis
Keyword analysis follows, and this helps to further identify a targeted list of key words and phrases. Review competitive lists, and other industry sources, as well as prioritising keywords and phrases, plurals, singulars, and misspellings.
Step 2: Content Optimisation and Submission
• Create page titles
Keyword-based titles help to establish page theme and direction for your keywords.
• Create meta tags
Meta description tags can influence click-throughs but aren’t directly used for rankings. (Google doesn’t use the keywords tag anymore).
• Place strategic search phrases on pages
Integrate selected keywords into your website source code and existing content on designated pages. Make sure to apply a suggested guideline of one to three keywords/phrases per content page, and add more pages to complete the list. Ensure that related words are used as a natural inclusion of your keywords. It helps search engines to quickly determine what your page is about. A natural approach to this works best. In the past, 100 to 300 words on a page was recommended. Many tests show that pages with 800 to 2,000 words can outperform shorter ones. In the end, the users, the marketplace, content and links will determine the popularity and ranking numbers.
• Develop new sitemaps for Google and Bing
Make it easier for search engines to index your website. Create both XML and HTML versions. An HTML version is the first step. XML sitemaps can easily be submitted via Google and Bing webmaster tools.
• Submit website to directories (limited use)
Professional search marketers don’t submit the URL to the major search engines, but it’s possible to do so. A better and faster way is to get links back to your site naturally. Links get your site indexed by the search engines. However, you should submit your URL to directories such as Yahoo! (paid), Business.com (paid), and DMOZ (free). Some may choose to include AdSense (google.com/AdSense) scripts on a new site to get their Google Media bot to visit. It will likely get your pages indexed quickly.
Step 3: Continuous Testing and Measuring
• Test and measure
Analyse search engine rankings and web traffic to determine the effectiveness of the programmes you’ve implemented, including an assessment of individual keyword performance. Test the results of changes, and keep changes tracked in an Excel spreadsheet, or whatever you’re comfortable with.
• Maintenance
Ongoing addition and modification of keywords and website content is necessary to continually improve search engine rankings, so growth doesn’t stall or decline from neglect. You also want to review your link strategy and ensure that your inbound and outbound links are relevant to your business. A blog can provide you with the necessary structure and ease of content addition that you need. Your hosting company can typically help you with the setup/installation of a blog.
Lotuswise Chartered Accountants and Business Consultants can help you and your business succeed. To find out how, please contact us. To also get even more useful business and finance information and tax advice tips, check out our app on Google or Apple stores.
No Deal Brexit? What Does This Mean For Your Business?
Is Your Business Ready For A No Deal Brexit?
As you know, on 13 March, MPs voted to rule out a no deal Brexit. And until something else is decided, no deal Brexit is still the default position. And so, no deal Brexit has now become even more of a possibility, since Parliament has yet again rejected Theresa May’s Brexit deal last week. Subsequently, the UK has until April 12 to come up with an alternative to leaving without any deal. As the Commons’ failure to approve a deal, now means that Article 50 can only be extended until that date. So, what does this mean for your business, should the UK leave the EU without a deal?
No Deal Post-Brexit VAT Preparations
If you’re a UK VAT-registered business trading with the EU, you’re being urged by HMRC to be prepared for the possibility of a no deal Brexit. In this respect, HMRC sent letters to 145,000 companies, of which you may well be one, advising to take 3 actions ahead of the leave date:
- You need to register for a UK Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number.
- You need to decide if a customs agent will be used to make your import and/or export declarations, or if declarations will be made by your business, via software which is compatible with HMRCs systems.
- You need to contact the organisations responsible for moving your goods (such as haulage firms), to determine if your business will need to supply additional information to complete safety and security declarations, or if you will need to submit these declarations yourself.
In fact, a report jointly published by HMRC and the National Audit Office (NAO) recently revealed that approximately 55 million customs declarations are currently made by British businesses every year. This figure may rise to 255 million when the UK leaves the EU.
Simplified Import Procedures In The Event of No Deal Brexit
In addition, HMRC has implemented a simplified import and export system. So, in the event of a no deal scenario, a mechanism to ensure that your goods move to and from the UK, with a reduced administrative burden for your business is in place, in terms of the documentation required at the port of entry and exit. Hence making it easier for your business, if you import from the EU using roll on roll off (RO-RO) facilities. This development will be of interest to you, if your business is involved in intra-EU trade. And in particular, if your business goods arrive and depart from one of the UK’s RO-RO locations, for example, Dover or the Channel Tunnel. You need to consider if you wish to make use of this provision. Likewise, HMRC has advised that you will need to register your business to use Transitional Simplified Procedures (TSP), effective since 7 February 2019 via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/register-for-simplified-import-procedures-if-the-uk-leaves-the-eu-without-a-deal. Altogether, these simplified transitional procedures will reduce the amount of information you need to give in an import declaration, when your goods are crossing the border. They do this by allowing you to defer giving a full declaration and paying the relevant customs duty.
Guidance Tool
The government has also devised a guidance tool to help prepare your business for the UK leaving the EU. You can use this tool to find out:
- What your business may need to do to prepare for the UK leaving the EU
- What’s changing in your industry
- Information on specific rules and regulations
You’ll need to answer 7 simple questions to get the relevant guidance for your business.
Lotuswise Chartered Accountants and Business Consultants can help you and your business succeed. To find out how, please contact us. To also get even more useful business and finance information and tax advice tips, check out our app on Google or Apple stores.
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Self Employed: 5 Steps To Help You Set Up
Self Employed?
If you’ve made the decision to move towards working for yourself, you should consider if you want to be a sole trader, a shareholding director of a limited company, or trade as a partnership. Once you’ve decided, you will need to inform HMRC. So, if you choose to go self employed or enter into a partnership, you will need to advise HMRC, so they can register you to receive a self assessment tax return. In addition, you will also need to tell them if you form a limited company. And, as a self employed person (including a partner), you will likely be required to pay income tax and Class 2 and 4 National Insurance contributions, under self assessment.
1. Self employed start up costs
Starting up a new business can be a costly exercise, and you’ll need to open a new business bank account for all your future work-related expenditure. It is vital you always keep records of accounts, to help you ensure you report the correct taxable profit to HMRC, after the end of any tax year.
Budgeting and forecasting
When you’re writing your financial forecast for your business, you should consider the following:
- Do you have access to funds you can use to start up your business?
- Do you have savings to carry you through periods of no income or unexpected expenses?
- Are there any life changing events on the horizon, such as moving to a new house or having a new baby?
- When employing staff, have you considered sick pay and annual leave?
2. Are there any self employed credits or grants available?
You also have to understand if you’re eligible to claim any self employed benefits, tax credits or even grants. You can check this easily by accessing organisations like the Citizens Advice Bureau or Gov.UK websites, to establish what you might be eligible for.
3. What about Location?
If you go self employed, you’ll need to decide where to locate your new business. You could run it from the comfort of your own home, or you may need to rent or purchase another property, as your place of work. If you decide to rent business premises, it is vital you check if there are any rules in place, restricting business activity. What’s more, you also need to check if the environment is suitable for the type of work to take place. If you are renting an office space, you must ensure you know your monthly costs, outside of your initial rental payments. Costs such as services, or any upcoming upgrades to the building, which may increase the rental costs in the future. In addition, don’t forget that, if you convert part of your home into businesses premises, you may be required to pay business rates, on top of any existing council tax commitment. You will also be asked to pay these rates, if you convert any part of your property into a shop/workshop. This will also be the case if client visits become a daily occurrence and you have dedicated rooms in your home, solely for business purposes.
4. Insurance
Check your insurance policy and, if in any doubt, call your broker to see if you need to take out additional cover for any business activity within your household. This isn’t an expensive addition, and most companies will combine additional cover into one domestic and business policy. If your business requires clients to enter your property, you may be advised to take out public liability insurance, another inexpensive addition to your insurance policy. You may also be required to hold a licence, depending on the nature of your business.
5. Business name
When deciding if you’re going to use a trading name for your business, you’ll need to be aware of any restrictions in place. If you’re thinking of forming a company, you can check if your proposed company name is already in use by using the Companies House name availability checker. If your business is to have a website, you’ll need to check if there are suitable domains available for your business name. Once everything’s in place, you can get to work on your new business, and enjoy working for yourself.
Lotuswise Chartered Accountants and Business Consultants can help you and your business, setting up as self employed, forming a limited company, and selecting the right cloud accounting solutions, such as QuickBooks. To find out how, please contact us. To also get even more useful business and finance information and tax advice tips, check out our app on Google or Apple stores.
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Google Search Results: How To Keep Your Website Relevant
Google Search: When it comes to online search, Google is still the world’s most popular search engine. Google’s search engine algorithm is continuously being updated, so how do you keep your firm’s website up to date, so that you show up in online searches?
More than 2.3 million Google searches are conducted every single minute. The top 5 search results on Google get over 70% of the click through traffic. There is no point your business being on the second or third page of search results – people don’t tend to look that far. Your firm needs to be in the top half of the first page in order to allow potential customers to find your business online.
Mobile Search
Mobile search is also on the rise – 88% of smart-phone users are searching on Google. As such, you should make sure that your firm’s website is optimised for smart-phone screens as well as computers and tablets.
Google Search Console
Google offers a free service called Google Search Console, which allows you to submit your website to Google for indexing. And, you can also use the tool to identify any potential search related errors on your site, view the kinds of search queries that are driving traffic to your site, etc.
Google My Business
You can also link your firm’s website to Google My Business. As this can help your website to appear in relevant geographic search results. Google will then send a postcard, to verify your business’s physical address, and your firm will show up if people are searching for a business like yours in their local area.
Your Website Speed
The speed at which your website loads also affects the way it is ranked by Google. That’s why Google ranks faster loading sites higher than slow websites. So, you can make your site load faster by minimising the size of image files and using fast hosting services.
Keywords, keywords and keywords
Finally, ensure that you use relevant keywords in your page titles, meta descriptions, URLs and throughout your actual content. And make sure you don’t use too many keywords as this can actually have a negative effect on your site’s Google ranking. If in doubt, consider hiring in an external consultant to help you.
Lotuswise Chartered Accountants and Business Consultants can help you and your business succeed. To find out how, please contact us. To also get even more useful business and finance information and tax advice tips, check out our app on Google or Apple stores.
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This Is What Really Motivates Employees
We all work to get paid but is money alone enough to motivate your employees?
Regardless of the type of business you run, you need to pay your employees fairly and in line with your competitors. If you don’t pay your people in line with the market, it can act as a de-motivator. However, once your pay scales are in line with industry norms, money alone isn’t really enough to keep your employees performing at a high level…
Pay, Freedom and flexible working
Paying in line with the market tends to achieve a rather neutral position, where there is no dissatisfaction among your employees, but this does not translate into them being more motivated. In fact, various studies have shown that employees place a high value on freedom. Indeed, they value flexible working, the opportunity to work from home when they want to, and they want to work for businesses that invest in the technology that allows them to do this.
Business is 24/7 when you take full advantage of flexible working!
Business is not just 9 to 5 anymore – it’s 24/7. So why should your employees be tied to a 9 to 5 work day? Businesses can benefit from this flexibility – projects led by agile workers tend to be completed quicker. Progress doesn’t just happen between 9am and 5pm. When the pressure is on, your flexible employees will stay late and get the job done. Conversely when things are quiet, they want the flexibility to go to the gym or do the school run. Modern professionals may well choose to work for an employer that has embraced agile working over and above a business that pays a little bit higher than market rate, but doesn’t offer flexible working.
Flexible working and purpose
Assuming your firms pay is in line with the market, your employees will be focused on job satisfaction. Again, various research studies have shown that high performing employees are motivated by purpose. They want to understand how their work contributes to the overall success of the business.
Flexible working, purpose and job satisfaction
They also want to get involved in projects and take responsibility for delivering their objectives. If you give people the opportunity to work on meaningful projects in a way that makes them feel they are contributing to the success of the firm, they will be more motivated. As far as recruitment is concerned, we are in the midst of a war for talent. The best people will stay with the businesses that offer them job satisfaction.
So, does money really motivate employees?
Yes and no. There is an expectation that they should be paid in line with the market. Beyond that, they will focus on job satisfaction, flexible working, etc.
Lotuswise Chartered Accountants and Business Consultants can help you and your business succeed. To find out how, please contact us. To also get even more useful business and finance information and tax advice tips, check out our app on Google or Apple stores.
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Brexit Uncertainty: How To Manage In These Worrying Times
Managing Brexit Uncertainty
Due to Brexit, 2019 looks set to be a year filled with uncertainty for businesses. The future is always unknown, but this year managers will need to navigate some particularly choppy waters, due to market uncertainty and global political turmoil.
Focus on what you can control
As a manager, you can always control your response, attitude, behaviour, actions and words. You can choose to be proactive and inquisitive rather than paralysed. In these times of Brexit uncertainty, the best managers step up and embrace their authority. When times are uncertain, your team wants you to lead the way. Bring your team with you on the journey, ask them for their opinion, include them in your planning conversations and challenge them to come up with new solutions.
Cash is king
In uncertain times, the old adage that “cash is king” carries even more weight. Cash is the lifeblood of your business, and poor cash flow management kills businesses during tough economic times. Market volatility also creates opportunities. If you have cash or credit available to take advantage of these opportunities when they present themselves, you may be able to move quickly and move your business forward. As such, good cash flow management can allow you to cash in and manage Brexit uncertainty effectively.
Embrace change and adapt
As your particular market changes, there will be opportunities for you to adapt. For example, if your customers have less budget to spend on buying products and services in your sector, it might be an opportunity for you to introduce a lower priced “value offering.” You could even go one step further and change your pricing model. For example, you could move clients to monthly retainers, rather than charging a once-off annual fee. Hence capitalising on Brexit uncertainty.
Diversify
If you depend on one big client to keep your business going, you should consider how to diversify your client base. Sometimes even giant businesses fail during tough times. If your biggest client goes out of business, you don’t want to be collateral damage. Just like in investing, the key is to have a diversified portfolio. Precisely because of Brexit uncertainty, now could be a good time to look at trying to win some new clients in order to make your business more resilient.
Lotuswise Chartered Accountants and Business Consultants can help you make sense out of Brexit uncertainty and potentially worrying times and also help your business succeed. To find out how, please contact us. To also get even more useful business and finance information and tax advice tips, check out our app on Google or Apple stores.
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MTD for VAT Pilot: This Is What You Should Know
MTD for VAT Pilot is Now… Open to All
You may have heard that, on 10 January 2019, HMRC announced that their Making Tax Digital for VAT (MTDfV) pilot was now open. As such, it is accessible to all those mandated to keep digitally compliant records and to file MTD-compatible VAT returns, for return periods commencing after 31 March 2019. Plus, in an email issued, HMRC stated that: “this marks a significant milestone towards our ambition to become one of the most digitally advanced tax administrations in the world.” And, HMRC boasts that over one hundred VAT-registered businesses, of which you may well be one, are now signing up to the scheme on a daily basis, with more than 3,500 having already joined.
Testing time
Even though, like the majority, you may not need to file up your first MTD-complaint return until early August, the department wants you and “as many eligible businesses as possible to join the pilot ahead of the mandation of the service in April”, as it will provide assurance that the service works for you and all types of customers.
What does it mean?
This means that, if you are a VAT-registered entity, with an annual VAT-able turnover in excess of the £85,000 compulsory registration threshold – i.e. you are mandated to onboard from April – you will now have the chance to test your accounting system, prior to April. If you are in the minority of compulsory registered businesses – i.e. with the most complex VAT affairs – you would have had your mandation date deferred to your first return period, starting on or after 1 October 2019.
VAT groups now able to join the pilot
In addition, HMRC has also opened its MTDfV pilot to VAT groups with immediate effect. What that means is that if you are within a VAT group, you are now able to start testing the service – even though you are not mandated to join until October. The department stated that it “will continue to update you as we open up the pilot to the remainder of the population who are mandated to join from October.”
Want to know more?
You can find further details in HMRC’s updated guidance for businesses, updated guidance for agents, and the stakeholder partner packs on GOV.UK.
Lotuswise Chartered Accountants and Business Consultants can help you make sense out of the MTD for VAT scheme and also help your business succeed. To find out how, please contact us. To also get even more useful business and finance information and tax advice tips, check out our app on Google or Apple stores.
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How To Overcome Your Fear Of Failure
One of the most common things holding us back from achieving our potential in business is our fear of failure.
Fear of failure is often linked to our human nature: to fear the unknown. When we push ourselves outside of our comfort zones, whether in business or in our personal lives, it is pretty normal to feel some degree of stress and anxiety.
We Are What We Do
In business, many of us consider our work to be representative of who we are as a person. As such, we can often view a failure in the workplace as a personal failure. This fear can often manifest itself in such a way that, we avoid reaching for new targets or striving towards new goals, in case we fail. We fear that such a failure, in such a public way, could change the way others view us, and indeed how we view ourselves. This can result in us holding ourselves back, because we fear failure.
No such thing as failure, only learning opportunities
It can be helpful to refocus and see “failures” as “learning opportunities”. Some of the world’s greatest entrepreneurs, including the likes of Richard Branson, have failed several times in business. However, they view these failures as learning opportunities. Each time you fall over, you must learn how to get back up and apply that learning next time around.
Change the way you think
Change the way you think about your goals and objectives. Don’t frame each business objective in order to avoid a potential failure. This is setting the objective in a negative context. Instead, set your objectives in a positive context. For example, set an objective to explore a new potential business case in order to learn about that opportunity. The goal is to learn, rather than to create, a new part of the business.
Visualisation is key
Finally, it can be helpful to visualise obstacles. Think of a situation in which you are afraid of failure. Visualise yourself hitting an obstacle, allow yourself to feel the fear, and then see yourself moving forward. Next, spend a few minutes planning how to overcome whatever obstacles may stand in your way. Then see yourself succeeding despite these obstacles. You need to train your brain to focus on the solution, rather than the fact that there is an obstacle in your way!
Lotuswise Chartered Accountants and Business Consultants can help you and your business succeed. To find out how, please contact us. To also get even more useful business and finance information and tax advice tips, check out our app on Google or Apple stores.
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Marketing Trends 2019: This Is What You Should Know
Marketing Trends To Watch Out For 2019
As we leave 2018 behind, it’s worth taking stock of this period of increased regulation on customer data protection and privacy – in parallel with its acceleration in marketing technology capabilities. Here, we give you an overview of what to consider in terms of the evolving expectations, demands on customer journeys, and the impact they may have on the marketing aspect of your business. Here are the top three marketing trends and strategies for you to consider for 2019.
1. Evolving customer experience and journeys
2018 brought us more paths through which customers can satisfy their ideal approach to buying. As such, you need to take into account the onset of conversational user interfaces, through voice search and recognition, from the likes of Apple Siri and Amazon Alexa. Have you then considered how this is adding a key customer touchpoint your marketing approach needs to adopt and adapt to? Such examples help fuel the customer need for convenience, being able to request what they want, when they want it, and how.
Marketing Data
As data becomes richer in terms of what we understand about customer behaviour, the personalisation of the customer experience can become deeper – albeit at a time when the use of data is being re-evaluated by companies, such as Facebook. If you are continuing with the over-used approach of marketing to “millennials”, this will limit how your brand or customer experience connects with twenty- to thirty-year olds today – as building your marketing approach will be subject to change in observing this consumer group. There is a huge opportunity in blending customer data from silos, such as combining what you know from your business data on your customers, with that which is coming from social data. Your marketing teams will need to best balance the careful use of client data, segmenting based on specific personas, and on a personalised experience on how your customers wish to interact.
2. Be more than a service. Be a trusted brand with values
“Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room” (Jeff Bezos)
If you have not yet positioned your brand to a set of values, you should do so in 2019. The majority of today’s customers are belief-driven buyers, harnessing their brand loyalty to what the company stands for. Whether that is helping others, trust, quality, innovation etc. Although there maybe a danger of alienating some of your customers, your brand values can deepen your customer-company relationship at an emotional level.
3. Manage your reputation; be prepared for a crisis
“It takes twenty years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it” (Warren Buffett)
With Google, if a result is based on an established view, it will find its way on to the first page. Taking this approach, if the sentiment about your brand is a bad one, intentionally or accidentally, then this may cause significant collateral damage for a long time – if a suitable response is not deployed. With the depth of opportunity for brands to advertise on nearly every website and platform consumers use, negative reviews can proliferate rapidly. And it is essential you’re able to respond to help mitigate, correct, or address the perception. For example, you might be listening to what people are saying online and making adjustments accordingly. No company is safe from reputation or brand crises and, as such, you should have a dedicated team owner to manage such an unfortunate event.
Lotuswise Chartered Accountants and Business Consultants can help you and your business succeed. To find out how, please contact us. To also get even more useful business and finance information and tax advice tips, check out our app on Google or Apple stores
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Why choosing the right location for your business matters
How Do You Choose The Right Location For Your Business?
When you consider Amazon’s recent decision on the new location for their business, it makes you think about some aspects to consider, when making a similar investment of your own. Your location should be consistent with your particular style and image. If your business is retailing, do you want a traditional store, for example? Or maybe you’d like to operate from a kiosk or a cart you can move from place to place? Let’s look into a few aspects of business location and why they matter so much…
1. Who Are Your Customers?
Demographics play an important part in your choice of location. So, consider who your customers are, and, how important their proximity might be to you. If you are a retailer or some service provider, this is a critical consideration. But if you are any other types of businesses, however, this might not be as important. Research and review the community in which you want to establish your business and ask yourself: is there a sufficient percentage of that population that matches your customer profile? But you should also look into communities that are largely dependent on a particular industry for their economy, as a downturn could be bad for business. In addition, consider any of the work force skills required. Are there people with these skills in the community? With sufficient housing, schools, recreational opportunities, and culture?
2. What Is The Footfall, Traffic And Parking like?
If you are a retail business, then consider where shoppers are likely to pass by, rather than being hidden away. Try monitoring traffic outside of the location at various times throughout the day. Then assess how accessible the facility will be for customers, employees and suppliers. If requiring deliverables, try to establish whether suppliers are able to easily and efficiently courier. You also need to make sure there is convenient parking for both customers and employees. As with foot traffic, you also need to monitor the facility at various times and days, and see how demand for parking fluctuates.
3. Are There Any Competitors / Other Services?
Another important factor you need to take into account is: are competing companies located nearby? As this could sometimes be good. Like for example for industries where comparison shopping is popular, as you can catch the overflow from existing businesses. If a nearby competitor is only going to make your marketing job tougher, look elsewhere. In addition, consider what other businesses and services are in the vicinity: is there any benefit from customer traffic, is there a suitable range of places and restaurants for employees? You might also want to think about the location of other facilities nearby, such as child care, convenient shops, etc.
4. What About The Infrastructure, Utilities And Costs?
You really want to check the building you’re interested in, has the actual infrastructure you need – adequate electrical, air conditioning, and telecommunications services – to support your business requirements and meet your present and future needs. For utilities, check what’s actually included in your rent, as this can be a major part of your expenses. Lastly, verify the medium-to-long-term rental expectations and commitments, so you can mitigate any potential rental rise.
Lotuswise Chartered Accountants and Business Consultants can help you and your business succeed. To find out how, please contact us. To also get even more useful business and finance information and tax advice tips, check out our app on Google or Apple stores.