Internet:

Don’t miss out as consumer spending shifts online

Posted on March 27, 2020

Two studies are showing that, perhaps unsurprisingly, consumers are spending more money online as the COVID-19 outbreak takes hold, emphasising the need for businesses to have an online presence.

Here in the UK, research from Blacktower Financial Management Group indicates that households have been spending an average of £13 more per week during the pandemic. Some of this has been in physical supermarkets, but notably, online spending has gone up by 25.5%.

Another study reveals similar patterns in the US, where restrictions are currently a little more relaxed in most states than they are here. A survey of over 2,500 American adults by L.E.K. Consulting and Civis reveals that online spending is up by 10%-30%, despite pessimism about the economy with 80%-90% of respondents believing a recession is likely next year.

As sanctions on personal movement increase both in the UK and the US (the latter has today been confirmed to have more coronavirus cases than any other country), these figures are only likely to increase as we become more reliant on home delivery services. This makes it crucial that businesses, particularly retailers, can continue to operate online for as long as restrictions continue.

Yesterday, we discussed how setting up a basic brochure website can make a big difference by giving traditional small brick-and-mortar stores an internet presence. With that structure in place, there’s no limit to how far they can take their online retail services, leaving them well set up for a post-coronavirus future.

The internet will no doubt prove to be a crucial lifeline as the pandemic develops and, while the situation is creating unprecedented challenges for businesses, many might be finding that funds they had put aside for something else have now been freed up. This might be due to cancelled events, unneeded office supplies or delayed plans to recruit staff, so why not invest some of this money into digital marketing and web development?

Whether the idea of a website is new to you, or you have one but want to get more out of it, speak to us at Engage Web for expert advice.

Posted by John Murray

How a website can see your independent store through the lockdown

Posted on March 26, 2020

The restrictions imposed on us as a result of the coronavirus outbreak have had an effect on all businesses, but threaten to be particularly tough on small, village food stores (more…)

Posted by John Murray

Take these two digital marketing steps in response to coronavirus

Posted on March 13, 2020

The link between the COVID-19 pandemic and digital marketing may not seem an obvious one, but with news and advice on the virus changing by the day, there are two digital marketing steps businesses can take to help at this challenging time.

Here are two suggestions we’ve picked up on as the world responds to spread of the virus:

1. Update your Google My Business listing

This week, Google has added a new section to its Google My Business help guide, specifically addressing the outbreak of the virus.

The search giant has advised that companies should manage their information closely and ensure it is up to date. For example, some businesses may be temporarily closed or shortening their working day, in which case they should change their business hours.

Google also suggests to create regular posts giving the latest information, such as stock levels and links to relevant sources. It may still be worth doing this even if your business is unaffected, as this way, people know in advance if it’s business as usual.

As of today, Facebook has also issued advice for small businesses related to the virus.

2. Consider reallocating your budget

A compilation of analysts’ observations published on Search Engine Land shows differing attitudes to digital spend. Sectors like travel and retail are being hit hard by the outbreak, so naturally their spending on the likes of Google and Facebook advertising is reflecting this. On the other hand, it appears that plenty of businesses are investing money they would have used elsewhere into their digital marketing.

An example given in the piece is of an exhibitor who expects to lose leads due to the cancellation of upcoming trade shows, so is pumping more into digital to make up for this. Another cites a small food company that wants to get the edge over competitors by outperforming them online, in keeping with the high growth goals it has for the year.

The coronavirus is causing plenty of uncertainty, but patterns we’re seeing so far, such as cancellation of public events and more people working from home, only put more emphasis on our reliance on the internet as a source of information and business.

At Engage Web, our search engine optimisation and content development strategies keep pace with both the digital and physical world. If digital marketing is the direction you’re looking towards at this testing time, why not speak to us?

Posted by John Murray

Three questions to ask when adding links to your website

Posted on February 21, 2020

Inserting links into your site, whether they direct users to another part of the site or somewhere else entirely, is a neat and modern way to get people where they need to be online. In 2020, it’s pretty awkward and old-fashioned to write “go to Engage Web’s website” when you could just say “click here”.

There are things that (more…)

Posted by John Murray

What is a favicon?

Posted on January 20, 2020

The news that Google is to change how it displays search results and ads on desktop machines has brought a word back into the techie lexicon that had gone a little out of fashion in recent times.

A look on Google Trends shows that search volume for the word ‘favicon’ has gone pretty steadily downwards since (more…)

Posted by John Murray

How to (literally) never be lost for words

Posted on December 19, 2019

Yesterday, we looked at the debate over whether it’s better to choose a long password over a complicated one, with many experts pointing out that with each character added to a password, the chances of it being guessed correctly decrease dramatically.

There is one other advantage to choosing a two- or three-word password instead of a (more…)

Posted by John Murray

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