Quicken Home Business

What Every Business Owner Should Know About Employment Contracts

Quick Home Business - Apr 19, 2021 Comments Off

If you are a business owner it is certain that contracts play a big role in many areas of your business, Some will be simple, and others more complex requiring input and advice from your business lawyers. As for what the contracts relate to, this can vary significantly and impact just about every aspect of the operation of your business..

There are contracts for purchasing supplies, materials, and stock, contracts to supply clients, contracts relating to your premises, and contracts that may be for the purchase or the hiring of machinery and equipment. Beyond these, there is a type of contract which is one of the most important that any business owner will have within their company and that is the employment contract of each of their employees.

An employment contract has two core reasons to exist and that is the protection of the employee and the protection of the employer. It is often thought that an employment contract’s sole purpose is to protect a worker’s rights and to ensure that they were not having to work under unacceptable, and even unlawful working terms. While it does fulfils that purpose, it is just as crucial in the protection of the employer too.

Digital Marketing

My Top 5 WordPress Security Tips

Quick Home Business - Oct 4, 2019 Comments Off

If you own or manage a WordPress website then security should be one of your main priorities. It’s extremely important to make sure that your site remains secure. Otherwise, you could become a target for hackers, losing important data and information.

Unfortunately, a lot of WordPress beginners ignore website security, instead choosing to focus on their content and on building a community. This is a bad idea, and creating a strong WordPress security presence doesn’t actually have to be that hard.

To help you get started, I’ve put together a short list of my top five WordPress security tips, including:

Regularly Change Your Password

Unfortunately, one of the worst things that can happen is for your admin password to be hacked, giving the hackers complete access to your website and its files. Changing your password regularly will reduce the risk of this happening, and I’d recommend using random alphanumeric passwords that are impossible to guess.

Use A Security Plugin

Another great way to secure your WordPress website is to use a high-quality security plugin. The WordPress plugin library contains hundreds of choices, and I’d recommend using one with a lot of reviews and a good reputation.

The best WordPress security plugins come with things like malware detection and removal, daily file backups, brute force protection, and firewalls. Carefully consider your site’s needs and make sure that you choose a plugin that’s going to work for you.

Digital Marketing

Why Is WordPress The World’s Most Popular Content Management System?

Quick Home Business - Jul 24, 2019 Comments Off

If you know anything about web development and website creation you will know that WordPress is the world’s most popular content management system. Currently, over 33% of the world’s websites are built on WordPress, and this number is only increasing.

But, like me, you might have wondered exactly what it is that makes WordPress so special. Is it really the best content management system available, or does it just have a good name?

Well, I’ve done my research, exploring this question to bring you the top reasons why WordPress is the world’s most popular content management system. These include:

It’s Open Source

The fact that WordPress is fully open source and free to use is a huge plus in the eyes of many web developers. Being open source means that users have complete access to their site’s code files, which in turn provides complete design flexibility and great customizability.

It’s Beginner-Friendly

As far as content management systems go, WordPress is actually quite beginner-friendly, accomodating for a good team building activity for you and your website partner. It’s designed so that people can build websites with little to no coding experience, which means that you can effectively build a site without any special skills whatsoever.

In saying this, WordPress is harder to use than website builders like Wix or Weebly, but the flexibility and versatility that it provides make it a great choice.

Digital Marketing

How Can I Use AI To Improve My WordPress Website?

Quick Home Business - Feb 8, 2019 Comments Off

Over the past few years artificial intelligence technology has been improving rapidly. Now, it has got to a point where AI can be used by the average person for everyday tasks. As scary as this is, it’s important to take advantage of the great opportunities presented by AI, otherwise you might find yourself falling behind your competitors.

With this in mind, I decided to have a close look at a few ways you can use AI to improve your WordPress website. I considered things like design, the user experience, and streamlining business processes, and came up with the following:

Consider Integrating Chatbots

One of the biggest things to come out of the recent AI boom is chatbots. Although they haven’t quite reached a point where they can replace humans completely, modern chatbots offer an effective way to communicate with website visitors.

There are a few reasons why you might decide to include a chatbot as part of your WordPress website. On the one hand, they can effectively eliminate the need for human support staff. However, they aren’t advanced enough yet to recognise human emotions and their features tend to be somewhat limited.

Use AI Search Assistants

If you’re thinking about building a large website that people are likely to search for things on, then you should seriously consider using an AI search assistant. Recently, AI powered voice search has begun to increase in popularity, growing to become a serious competitor for traditional text-based searches.

I’d recommend getting ahead of the pack and integrating voice-search technology with your website now. AI voice search will almost certainly become a key web development feature in the future, so you may as well start getting used to it sooner rather than later.

Digital Marketing

What Is The Best Way To Build A Website?

Quick Home Business - Sep 24, 2018 Comments Off

If you want to build a strong online presence then the first thing you need to do is build yourself a website. Unfortunately, web design and web development can be difficult if you have no skills to speak of, which means that it can be hard to decide on the best way to build your website.

With this in mind I’ve explored some of the best website building platforms available, with a focus on complete beginners and those with little to no website building experience.

Some of the best ways to build a website include:

Using A Website Builder

In recent years website builders have become increasingly popular. Platforms like Wix, Weebly, and Squarespace have improved their services and come to offer some of the most beginner friendly website building solutions available.

Basically, a website builder is an all-included platform which allows you to create a fully hosted website. The builder itself usually takes care of all the technical details, allowing you to focus on your site’s design and content.

However, it’s worth noting that website builders can be a little on the expensive side. Even the most basic builder subscription usually costs at least $10 per month, which can be too much for those who just want to build a blog or simple business site.

Web Design

How Can I Monetize My WordPress Blog?

Quick Home Business - May 10, 2018 Comments Off

People across the world dabble in blog and website writing every single day. At a first glance, it seems like a great way to make money from home – or indeed, from anywhere else in the world! However, it isn’t as easy as everyone would have you believe. Monetizing your WordPress blog actually requires a lot of time and effort, and it certainly isn’t for everyone.

If you do want to earn a bit of money from your blog, then you need to make sure that you have a fairly decent amount of website traffic. The people who visit your website – your readers, followers, and viewers – are the people who will help you earn money from your content.

There are a number of ways to monetize WordPress blogs and websites, and the best ones for you will depend on your website and the types of content you have. Some of the more popular monetization methods include:

PPC (Pay Per Click) Advertisements

This is probably the most common website monetization method among part-time and casual bloggers. It is relatively simple, and doesn’t take a long time to set up or a lot of maintenance. PPC advertising is simple – you place advertisements on your website, and you get paid a small amount every time someone clicks on one of the ads. Payments vary according to the advertising broker you use, but generally aren’t huge.

Business Advice

Record Keeping For The Ultimate Tax Deductions

Quick Home Business - Mar 31, 2018 Comments Off

When it comes to small business accounting, record keeping is everything. Accountants Australia advise that keeping decent records can help minimise your taxable income, can save you a lot of time, and can make things a lot easier when it comes time to file your tax return.

If you are struggling with record keeping, you’re not alone – most small business owners have some sort of trouble keeping the right records, and this often comes back to bite them at tax time. If you don’t really understand what your obligations are when it comes to record keeping, you should think about speaking to an experienced accountant.

What sort of records do I need to keep?

When it comes to record keeping, there are a few things that it is absolutely essential to keep track of throughout the year so you don’t run into trouble at tax time. Some of the most important include:

Your expenses – When it comes to calculating your taxable income, you will need to know how much money you spent to run your business. Any and all business expenses should be recorded and kept track of. If possible, keep and tax receipts, as they will be needed as proof when you submit your tax return.
Income – Keeping a clear record of your income, where it came from, and how it needs to be taxed is essential, especially if you have any income from investment.

Web Design

Must Have WordPress Plugins

Quick Home Business - Feb 16, 2018 Comments Off

Any web developer will tell you that no WordPress website is complete without a full suite of different plugins. WordPress plugins are basically tools which help you monitor your website, perform menial tasks, and which can provide helpful insight into your content and visitor trends.

With that in mind, we have compiled a list of the top five WordPress plugins:

Yoast SEO

Modern search algorithms are becoming more and more complex. With increasing competition every day, it is becoming harder and harder for websites to get themselves into the top search engine results. Yoast SEO (Search engine optimisation) is a great WordPress tool which can provide SEO insights and suggestions with regards to your sites content. It can help you craft content which will perform well in search engine ratings. Any website on the first page of Google for a popular keyword is bound to do well – use Yoast to help yourself get there!

Slack

If you are building some sort of website which aims for community involvement, then you may want to consider using a plugin like Slack. Slack allows you to communicate with people from around the world, and can be integrated directly into your website. It is extremely convenient, and can be used in conjunction with a suite of other tools.

Web Design

Essential Criteria For Choosing A Web Design Company

Quick Home Business - Dec 28, 2017 Comments Off

Assuming you are following the established and sensible advice that you should not design and build your website yourself, you should now be considering which skills, talents and services a web design company like Web Design Perth should be able to offer you.

Before you choose any of them here are some of the core factors you should take into consideration.

#1 Programming and Functionality

No matter how stunning the graphics might be across your site, they are worthless if the website doesn’t function properly. Nothing will have visitors to your site leaving quicker than pages, links and other functions that do not work. It is not only frustrating for visitors but the impression it gives them of you and your business is entirely negative. Ensure any web designer you are considering can show you evidence that their programming skills are at a sufficient level for the needs of your website’s operation.

#2 Copywriting

If your web design company has copywriters that can work on the copy within your site it can be a huge bonus. So many businesses lose out because they fail to see the benefits of well-written copy on all their site’s pages. Good copy will keep visitors on your site for longer, and will certainly be more effective in getting them to take action such as subscribing to your email list or making a purchase.

Digital Marketing

5 Ways To Segment Your Email Subscriber Lists

Quick Home Business - Dec 3, 2017 Comments Off

Email marketing is a powerful and effective way to communicate with your subscribers and promote your products. There are many marketers who simply add subscribers to their lists week in week out and send out generic emails to each and every one of them. The problem with this is that sending the same message or promotion to everyone means that it will not resonate with many of them and so the email is effectively wasted.

The solution to this is to segment your subscriber list into sub-lists so that you can tailor specific messages to each group for maximum effectiveness. There are several ways you can segment your list, but here are 5 which tend to get the best results.

#1 Buyers of Specific Product Lines

Some marketers segment merely between buyers and prospects and whilst it is step in the right direction you should go even further. If you have several product lines, you should segment buyers by which ones they purchased so that you promote other products to them instead of the ones they have already bought.

#2 Open Rates

Your email autoresponder service should have the capacity to give you data which will include the frequency with which each subscriber opens your emails. Knowing this will allow you to send differently crafted emails to the segments which do open regularly compared to those that don’t. The objective is to improve your open rates amongst the latter group.

Digital Marketing

Five Of The Best Tools For SEO Research

Quick Home Business - Nov 2, 2017 Comments Off

Being able to carry out SEO research is vital if you are trying to rank your own website higher, or are an SEO expert working on behalf of clients according to SEO Perth. Having as much relevant information as possible will allow you to make more accurate assessments of the actions you need to take, especially in relation to keywords, backlinks and the competition. Here are five of the most popular SEO tools in use today.

#1 SEMrush: SEMrush is one of the most popular tools in the search engine optimisation arena, and most SEO experts have it as part of their research toolbox. It provides in-depth information and data on several parameters which include keywords research, organic rankings, video advertising, backlinks and paid advertising such as PPC and PPV.

SEMrush’s research results can be presented in many ways, including data tables, reports and graphs which are particularly useful when you need to present your findings to colleagues or clients.

Digital Marketing

How To Make A Connection With Your Email Subscribers

Quick Home Business - Sep 30, 2017 Comments Off

Talk to any seasoned exponent of email marketing about the best way to make it effective and they’ll tell you that you need to create a relationship with your subscribers. The question is, how can you do that?

If you are just starting an online business, unless you have an extremely large amount of financial backing or investment, it is likely you are starting the business yourself or possibly with a partner. This is a perfect opportunity for you to connect with your subscribers right away.

This can be done in several ways but one of the most effective is to add a personal touch to your emails instead of making them all business talk from start to finish. In other words, let your email subscriber know that there is a real person behind these emails.

If you feel comfortable doing so, you might want to add in a little bit of your personal life, by mentioning you partner, kids, family, friends or even your pets. Don’t go overboard with this but remember your subscribers are like the rest us, and so they love hearing other people’s news, especially if it’s interesting.

A great way to use your personal life is to take some of the things that have or are happening and relate them in some way to the advice you are giving your subscribers. If your emails give advice to other businesses, you might want to talk about great customer service your family received whilst eating out. Or if you are in the personal development field, you could relate a story about how a friend transformed their life using the art of goal setting.

Digital Marketing

Two Primary Ways Social Media Helps Expand Your Business

Quick Home Business - Apr 2, 2017 Comments Off

If you have a new or existing business and have not yet started to formulate your social media marketing strategy, then the first question you must answer is ‘Why not?’.

It may be that you have not yet realised all the ways that social media can help expand your business and therefore do not see the need to use it. This leaves you at a huge disadvantage, especially when it is more than likely that competitors in your niche are using social media to gain customers that might otherwise have been yours.

To give you an insight into benefits of social media and working with a digital business consultant, here are two of the ways it can help you build and expand your business.

The first benefit is that it is very cost effective in comparison to traditional marketing methods. For many businesses advertising is one of their highest costs, so it is understandable that there may be some reluctance to start paying for social media marketing. The crucial point here is that initially, social media marketing need not cost you much at all. Creating your profiles, and building your following can be done with a very small budget and the return on this small investment can be huge.

Business Advice Digital Marketing

How Branding Can Be Heard As Well As Seen

Quick Home Business - Oct 2, 2016 Comments Off

Ask any person to describe branding to you, and they’ll most likely talk about logos, graphics, colours and web design, and they are not wrong. But according to branding & marketing expert Peter Brittain, what they, and more importantly what many business people overlook is that branding can be about more than just what people can see.

What you must realise is whilst visual branding such as logos is important for a company or business it is also possible to use audio as well to build brand awareness.

Just think of the number of companies who you can instantly recognise, simply by hearing a short piece of music, a voice, a tone or some other sound. A couple of prime examples are the four notes that you hear at the end of an Intel ad, and how about ‘I’m loving it’, being sung after McDonald’s have told you about their latest meal deal.

If you go to the movies you are bound to know that when you hear the snare drums and trumpets start playing it’s going to be a 20th Century Fox movie on the screen, and another movie company proves you don’t even need music to have an instantly recognisable audio. We are of course, referring to Leo the lion roaring twice, before the intro of every MGM movie.

Web Design

The Simplest eCommerce Platforms for Beginners

Quick Home Business - Feb 13, 2016 Comments Off

As the internet continues to expand and grow its capabilities, more and more people are starting remote or online businesses. Starting an online store is now easier than ever with a range of eCommerce platforms and dropship providers, and all you need is a few dollars and some marketing smarts.

One of the most important things when opening a new online store is getting the right eCommerce platform. Some platforms are made for large businesses or experienced designers, while others are much simpler, designed to be used by normal people who have a bit of an entrepreneurial streak. With this in mind, here are the best eCommerce platforms for people starting their first online store:

Shopify:

I think that Shopify would top anyone’s list of the simplest eCommerce platforms out there. It is designed to help you create your online store with the least amount of fuss possible, even if you aren’t really very technologically minded. Shopify is adaptable to any business of any size. It boasts over 1000 apps which you can use to increase the success of your store. Best of all, it’s simple!

Magento:

Magento is growing in popularity as it becomes more widely known. It has two main features which make it an attractive eCommerce platform for any business of any size: it is scalable to any store size, and it is open source. The fact that it is open source means that you can add anything to your store (assuming that you have a little bit of developing knowledge). Things like statistical analysers, store tools, and even marketing features can be included at the touch of a button, allowing you to completely customise your store.

Web Design

Single Page vs Multi Page Web Design – The Pros and Cons

Quick Home Business - Mar 16, 2015 Comments Off

In the past, multi-page web designs dominated the internet. Some websites even opted to split single articles or topics into multiple pages to keep the amount of content presented at any one time to a minimum. However, one-page website designs have begun to grow in popularity in recent times, with most quality designers offering both options.

Both single and multi-page website designs have their pros and cons, and both styles have particular function which make them attractive to certain people. When designing your website, it is important to consider both styles to decide which will have the greatest impact on your target audience. With the help of Cheap Web Design, we have outlined the major pros and cons of both styles below. Hopefully they will help you get started on your web design journey:

Multi-page design:

Almost everyone is familiar with multi-page website designs. The standard layout involves a number of pages, each covering a particular topic or part of a topic, and each accessible via a home page and/or menu bar. Multi-page web design is generally used when people have a lot of content to present, but can detract from the main focus of a website (if there is one).

Digital Marketing

Content Marketing – the How, What, and Why

Quick Home Business - Feb 22, 2014 Comments Off

The modern world of marketing revolves around digital marketing and its many advertising opportunities. Although things like social media marketing and pay per click advertising work extremely well and can drive visitors directly to your website, content marketing is also something that you should seriously consider using.

What is content marketing?

Basically, content marketing involves creation and distribution of high quality content on the internet. The idea is to create valuable content which people will read and share on social media. This helps your name get out there, and is especially valuable if you own a website or online store which is based on a high traffic volume.

It is important to note that content used for content marketing must be things which people want to look at or read. This differs from most advertising methods in that people are engaging with your content voluntarily, rather than having ads forced on them. Think about what you are including in your content, how you are creating it, and how you are going to disperse it.

Digital Marketing

What The Search Engines Look For In A Website

Quick Home Business - Jun 24, 2013 Comments Off

Ask anyone if they know what the search engines are looking for when they analyse a website, and 90% of the answers you’ll get will be a shrug of the shoulders. Those with a knowledge of SEO will give you better answers but they can vary between the oversimplified to the downright confusing, and everything in between.

Other than the search engines themselves, nobody can be 100% sure of every single element that the search engines look at, how it assesses them, and the importance it places upon them. To be fair to the search engines they do publish information that gives webmasters and businesses some of the core answers they need to ensure any website they are using is as SEO friendly as it can be.

There is also a lot of research that takes place, mainly by SEO agencies who create hundreds of websites, in order to analyse what happens to their ranking following specific changes which are made to that site. The information given out by the search engines plus the published research has established there are four basic elements which contribute to the ranking of any website.

Website Hosting

5 Tips for Choosing a Hosting Provider

Quick Home Business - Sep 30, 2012 Comments Off

There are many, many web hosting providers out there. Some of these offer great services at affordable rates, while others are really pretty average. Choosing the right provider can be difficult if you don’t know what to look for, and poor-quality web hosting companies have been the downfall of many fine entrepreneurs in the past.

Our top five tips for choosing the best hosting provider for your needs include:

Look closely at their reputation:

The reputation of a web hosting provider is probably the most important thing to look for when it comes to choosing the right one for your needs. Do your research and be aware of other people’s experienced with them. Ideally, you will choose a provider with a great reputation build over years of professional service.

Digital Marketing

Hiring a Digital Agency To Create Your Email Copy

Quick Home Business - Mar 2, 2012 Comments Off

Creating the copy for email marketing campaigns is a highly valued skill as it can mean the difference between a successful campaign and a failure. For this reason, many businesses employ a digital agency who can advise on, and in most cases, create the email copy that will be the most effective for any given marketing goal.

The first benefit of using an agency is their considerable experience of running email marketing campaigns for other companies. This means they will have the data relating to open rates and sales and they will have analysed it thoroughly. In effect, this means you are benefitting from the investment that previous companies have made in their email campaigns, as their results can help the agency make your campaign the best it can be.

Digital agencies like Cybera Digital, will also have a vast archive of emails relating to all sorts of niches and all kinds of calls to action. Using this archive and other templates, they will be able to create as many emails for your campaigns as you wish. Even better they will be able to use the templates from previous successful campaigns and tailor them to suit your niche and your company.