Why is Social Media important

posted in: Social Media

The whole reason for you to have a social media presence is one single goal: to increase revenue. This could be because of better customer service, improved sales conversion, word of mouth on steroids or great branding, but the goal remains the same. SearchEngineOp can help you create and manage your social media networks to achieve measurable goals. (more…)

Renovations Waterloo

posted in: Business

Waterloo, Ontario is a beautiful town. Housing is high quality, the standard of living is superior and the people are very friendly. If you find yourself living in this beautiful small city, you are lucky.

If you ever need renovations Waterloo, you should consider talking to an expert like DaMaren Renovations. An expert will assist you in deciding the right design and plan for your home, ensuring that all considerations are taken and that the legal requirements of your city are met. They also know great ways to find savings and improve the reach of your budget, so that it will go beyond what it normally could. (more…)

Surfing Costa Rica

posted in: Business

Surfing is a fantastic experience. The beach, the sun and the waves, what could be any better than that?

During winter in Canada, people dream of escaping to a sunny destination like Costa Rica. Some even consider Costa Rica surfing as a great option… (more…)

Online marketing basics

posted in: Stuff

For several years now, an online presence has been an extremely important asset in business and startups. Companies look at an seo firm as an actual partner more than a simple service provider and web design agencies as a vital element in their promotional efforts. (more…)

Counselling on the web

posted in: SEO

Small businesses and independent professionals (like consultants) are experiencing a rapid presence growth in the web. This is particularly true if we talk about professionals related to the health markets.

Doctors, dentists or simply businesses that related to the medical field like plastic surgery or even ophthalmologists have learned how to take advantage of the web to promote their services to prospective and real clients.

In the case of counselling, it is one of the health services specialties that have the great benefit of connecting potential customers with providers through the internet. Lets review on specific examples of how to have website of this type and how to improve results.

What should a Counselling services website have?

A website about counselling services should of course have the basic elements of the rest of websites should have. Information should be clear, specially information related to the people who are behind the website, including contact information, office address, phone number and ideally, the name and professional background of the person offering counselling services. Web design Guelph trends should be kept in mind while designing for its target audience.

Colours are important. White backgrounds with green or blue elements, preferably pastel tones would be the most adequate for this type of websites. White, greens and blues are colours associated with health professions and well-being.

Once established the previous elements, it is important to present the specialties and services offered. If the site is about family counselling Guelph or online counselling, it is important that the home page have direct access to that information.

counselling on the web

Important: Where is the counselling provided?

If it is about counselling Kitchener or Guelph, it is important to provide this information to the users and visitors right away. People will want to know if the services are within their travelling distance or if an alternative like online counselling is available.

Fot this, we have several options that Google provides, which means that getting good ranking would be essential. It is convenient to have an SEO agency create a plan or strategy to achieve those first page rankings when someone is typing the search keyphrases related to counselling Guelph or counselling Kitchener.

This way, we will not only have a great website for this type of services, but we will also be available and easy to find by those prospective clients who are searching for the services.

As in many industries, it is all about location, location, location. Where do you put your calls to action? What is the service area? Where is the office located?

Planning is the best way to ensure the results are what is expected. Starting a project without any planning or at least some basic research is a risky endeavor that should be avoided.

Multiple rankings for one keyword

posted in: SEO

To obtain the first place in some keyword phrases that have a high conversion rate is one of the most important goals in our business, this is also to improve the benefits obtained for a company working with us. (more…)

Starting a business in Ontario

posted in: Business

Many people find themselves with a great idea for a product or service. Even though the prospect of starting a business seems daunting at first, many attempt it. The learning curve is long and difficult, however, success is always at hand.

The most important thing to keep in mind when starting your business, is a clear understanding of your product or service and how you plan to market it, in other words, how you plan on getting the word out so that people come to you.

In any case, below we give you some basic pointers to consider when starting your own business in Ontario:

  1. Time and effort are the two biggest tools of an entrepreneur. Starting a business and running it can be a lot of work. Take time to consider all it will take and your willingness to work for it. Are the risks associated with business’ ups and downs something you can manage?
  2. Structure. What will be the structure of your business? Will if be a sole proprietorship, a partnership or a corporation?
  3. Marketing. Consider a budget for marketing. Many businesses are started without any consideration for marketing, it is important that you take some time to research the potential and evaluate the best marketing options. Who are your competitors and what are they doing? Why should a customer prefer your products over the competitions? Do you need a website?
  4. Financing. How much money do you need to start? Plan your budget realistically and decide whether you need financing. Keep in mind your overhead, every cost including staff, office/store space, marketing, tools and operating budget. Can you support your business and yourself for at least 2 years? Most businesses only find out if they succeed after the second or third year, the first one is usually the hardest one when starting.
  5. The Law. Learn about taxes, licensing, health and safety regulations, etc. Understanding your local and federal legal obligations is important, particularly taxes.

This is a primer of what you should think about when starting a business in Ontario. It is by no means an exhaustive exploration of each element and each one deserves special attention and consideration. Take your time to plan and work hard, good planning and resilience  are trademarks of successful business owners.

A picture from a road in La Mancha, Spain
The road ahead

Another complexity is if you are trying to start a business in Ontario (register it), but that operates at another location outside of the province. When we were asked by Water Dreams Costa Rica to do their web design, we faced an interesting situation. They provide surf camps in Costa Rica and wanted to attract people interested in surfing and SUP. Their main customers are in Canada and particularly from Ontario. Their marketing had to consider several law complications, licensing matters in two countries and business structure and management. A simple idea of having a surf school where people can learn to surf and do SUP, became quite complicated. Fortunately, they were able to sort through the complications and people are enjoying great surfing experiences through the Water Dreams team.

When you are considering starting your business, look at all angles before opening the doors. Digital marketing can do a lot for your business, but do not rely on it to make your business, it is still marketing and as such it is just one component of a much more complex endeavor.

How to install Gnome Shell themes in Ubuntu 11.10

posted in: Stuff

As easy as just two simple steps. Of course, this assumes you have already installed the Gnome Advanced Settings panel (gnome-tweak).

First add Satyajit repository by openning your terminal and typing (or copying from here) the following command:

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:satyajit-happy/themes

Once the repository is added, just install the Gnome-Shell User Theme Extension:

sudo apt-get install gnome-shell-extensions-user-theme

This last command will enable an option in the Gnome Advanced Settings panel go to “Shell Extensions” and enable the “User Themes Extension”. Logout and log back in. At this point there should be a new “Shell Theme” option that allows uploading of new gnome-shell themes which can be found at GnomeLook.org.

Easy!