PostsLet's link up 31st March 2016 3:58 PM Its a good strategy, link with like minded and related sites. Points to remember, don't over do it. You don't want to end up with too many reciprocal links (you link to me, I link to you), as this will create an unnatural linking profile and may annoy the Google god. Also remember quality. A good quality relevant link can be worth a 100 low quality ones, so focus your energy on quality not quantity How can I help 31st March 2016 2:44 PM Hi Ave Appreciate the sentiment. We have had a variety of shared social media account threads, where we like or promote each others over the years. It tends to skirt the rules of social media gaming but doesn't do much harm. When we moved the social media links to the forum profiles (hover your mouse over my profile), then the old social media threads died out. We tend to like/follow people who like/follow us, and I know a lot of people do the same. If you follow peoples social media profiles, I'm sure they would be grateful and bound to give a like/follow back. Remember to add in your social media links in your forum profile (just click your profile to edit it). Other than that, you don't need to be an SEO guru. You've set up a site from scratch, you'd be amazed how much knowledge you have amassed and how useful that can be to someone less experienced. So don't be shy to wade in with your 5 pence worth on any thread discussions or questions. Or a bit of humour on a friday doesn't go a miss! Our resident cartoonist has been a bit busy of late! Easter hols 31st March 2016 2:25 PM Think I've eaten my own body weight in chocolate Whirlpool Tumble Dryers - use it or scrap it? 18th March 2016 1:58 PM I see on the news this morning that the official Whirlpool advice that your tumble dryer is safe to use as long as you are in the house. Electrical Safety campaigners argue what are we all taught to do in the event of a fire? Evacuate So now, do you stay and fight an electrical fire? Leon Livermore, CEO of the Chartered Trading Standards Institute did an interview on the radio urging the government to get involved before someone dies! But on a practical level, it seems you may have to wait 11 months before a Whirlpool engineer arrives and sorts your machine out, so what do you do in the meantime? I know our machine gets plenty of use, so not using it is a non starter, unless we scrap it and buy another one. In which case will we get refunded? Apparently according to the press their were 5.3 million faulty dryers sold between 2004 and 2015, so that's a lot of replacement machines and a lot of disruption if you decide not to use your machine until it's checked. You can check to see if you are affected by visiting this specially set up page:
So what do you think? Do you have a duff dryer? Are you still using it or are you playing safe? SEO assistance 18th March 2016 1:29 PM Hi Ave Blimey, where to start! In an ideal world, a business has a budget, and for the skills you don't have in-house, you outsource them. Unfortunately that doesn't reflect the reality for a lot of hobby or lifestyle businesses. But if you have time on your side, semi technically minded, have plenty of patience, then there is no reason why you can't pick plenty of stuff up. First things first, start with the website. Ask for some website feedback - What do you think of my Website? Be honest, and say what your limitations are if you are the one who is responsible for the site, but it may be that some relative simple things can be addressed by some tweaking which will improve your onpage SEO. Next thing, brush up on your SEO knowledge. How advanced are you? I did a blog post called SEO 101 for laymen and newbies which in various formats has helped a few people over the years. If you are happy with all of these concepts and how to apply them, then you are half way there. There are also some good links to further SEO resources. We also have an SEO education section which might help. Likewise happy to field any specific questions if there is something in particular that is causing problems, or you want to discuss the next level such as building citations or structured data. EU and small business owners - do you feel informed? 18th March 2016 11:10 AM
“This is a good impartial information page from the The Commons Library, showing both sides of the argument.
www.parliament.uk/business/publications/research/eu-referendum/ ” That's quite an interesting read, key thing for me was at the bottom of the page:
Impact of leaving
If the UK left the EU, would UK citizens benefit? This would depend on how the Government filled any policy gaps left by withdrawal. In some areas, the environment, for example, where the UK is bound by other international agreements, much of the content of EU law would probably remain. In others, the government might decide to retain the substance of EU law, or to remove EU obligations from UK statutes. Much would also depend on whether the UK sought to remain in the European Economic Area and therefore continue to have access to the single market, or preferred to go it alone and negotiate bilateral agreements with the EU. So in theory we could remain the "common market" without being full EU members. That's food for thought. Budget 2016 - small business verdict? 18th March 2016 11:04 AM Received a nice info graphic from Natwest which outlined the points quite well. Can't beat a picture
EU and small business owners - do you feel informed? 17th March 2016 3:09 PM
“Or is the lack of information a ploy to get us to vote to stay in, purely based on ignorance. I heard a discussion last week about the importance of our NATO membership versus EU.”
Don't start me on NATO! A disjointed unproportional white elephant about as useful and relevant in the modern world as the UN. Well IMHO There does seem to be an ongoing feeling of confusion or lack of information, which aside from some hysteria driven headlines on both sides, no really is putting up a clear case. Why don't we just have a loose trade collaboration that allows us to trade easily and fairly with our European neighbours, without or the hassle fuss and red tape. Sort of a Common Market Best of both worlds, let the rest of Europe merge into one bizarre multi language melting pot of confusion if they want to, but let us flog them widgets and wheelbarrows without any protection rackets or import restrictions. For some things, they should bring back flogging.. 17th March 2016 2:57 PM Hi Julia, rant away! In this thread you've got an ex squaddie, ex RAF and Ray who works in the Prison Service, so you're in good company I'm still a fan of flogging, but I don't think it's very PC these days Windows 10 as a business platform - thoughts? 17th March 2016 2:52 PM
“wait till you try and make the stupid thing sleep arggggggggg ,it's like a flipping baby and wakes up 3 or 4 times a night ..”
Interesting, not just us then! We've got the same problem on a Windows 8.1 upgraded to Win 10 machine. It's our accounts machine and bursts into life all by itself overnight, and now we have to shut it down rather than put it to sleep. Might have to have a google, maybe it's a known issue with upgrades, I assumed it was just our ropey box! |
It was only to stop the kids from eating it, have to think of their health 
