How is your data being tracked across websites?

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Many people are aware that when they go online or visit a website there is a certain amount of tracking going on. This has become even more apparent since the GDPR update which now requires you to get permission off a visitor to track the as the progress through your site.

Apple states that on average there are 6 different trackers on one site all sending data off to third party companies. This date may include information about what browser you are using, where you are on a phone, tablet or computer and where in the world you are located. The locations may be accurate to within the same town or village to where you live. They can also see what interactions you have made with the site, so what pages you have clicked on, what forms you have completed and what products you have bought. All of this data is then feed back to the company to allow them to use it to improve their website and sales experience. Often this data is quite generic, but if allowed, some websites where you have to log in a create an account can get a lot more personal details from you.

New year new marketing strategy

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Next week will mark the start of a new year. This year certainly has been very different for many of us and some businesses have really struggled whilst a small number have thrived.

It may be that you do not get your new marketing budget until April but even if that is the case, now is the perfect time to start to plan what you are going to do.

The coming year is filled with uncertainty at the moment and it may be that you are worried about spending money on marketing, but the fact remains that it is often the ones that invest most on to their marketing that do well.

You need to think carefully about what is the best marketing avenue for your business. It may be that social media is going to give you the best return or possibly that Google AdWords is the way forward. Whatever you decide to invest in make sure that you are able to track how successful it is and review your marketing often as you may need to make changes as you go along. Using a marketing company will cost more but can usually ensure that your budget is used as effectively as possible.

Creating a strategy for the launch of your new website

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If you are in the process of having a new website built then you need to have a strategy and plan that you follow in order to ensure that everything is done correctly and to minimise any unnecessary disruption to your business.

Firstly, you need to make sure that you keep the structure of the URL’s the same as the are on the old site for as many pages as possible. This will mean you do not have to set up redirects as the old links will automatically go to the new pages once the site is live. IF you do have a different structure or have the site on a new domain then you will need to set up redirects. Ensure that these redirects are going to the relevant pages as much as possible and not just to a home page.

It is vital that you test your website as much as possible before it goes live. Having broken links or parts of pages that do not display or work correctly can be off putting and you may find that the your visitors leave and do not come back again. It is often a good idea to get someone to test the site who has not been involved in the build process as they will be able to look at it with a fresh set of eyes.

Working with your marketing agency to achieve great results

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If you have a web agency that has designed and built your website or even just taken over the management of it then it is advisable that you work closely with them. You may give them a certain amount of money each month for them to invest into different marketing avenues on your behalf or you may give them work on a project by project basis. Whichever way you work with them you need to ensure that you spend an adequate amount of time working alongside them to get the most out of your budget. Some of the work they undertake may require limited or no input from you, whereas other work may be more affective if you can get involved. For example, if they are writing content to go on to your site or on to other sites to get a link back to yours then this content should have your input after all its your business. The best way to do this would be for you to write out the article and then for them to add in the elements that are needed to SEO. Doing it this way will also mean that they can spread your budget further than if they were having to do research and then write it all from scratch.

The importance of updating your devices

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Most devices that run some sort of software will need to be updated from time to time. These include anything from phones, tablets and computers through to TV’s, routers and even smart watches.

As technology advances updates are needed to be able to feed new or improved functionality to your device. For example, on your phone, you may install an app update for your online banking which will add new functionality such as viewing previous statements etc. Updates also often include a lot of additional security functions and if you do not do them you may be leaving yourself vulnerable to a cyber attack or fraud.

Often if you do not do a number of updates you will start to find that may applications and services stop working or become unreliable.

Before you do updates it is important to try and take a back up of your important documents or pictures in case something goes wrong during the back up. Sometimes updates are scheduled to be done at set times, but if this is not going to be convenient for you, then schedule a new time when the device is not needed to be used.