Our thoughts, rants and inside knowlege of web design & development!
Chris
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Homepage: http://www.areatrade.co.uk
Posts by Chris
Internet to Surpass 2 Billion Users This Year
Oct 20th
The total number of internet users will grow past the 2 billion mark before the end of 2010, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has reported.
Currently the world population is estimated to be 6.86 billion which means that around 30% of the population will be online next year. A further 226 million users will join the rest of us online this year, 162 million will come from developing countries which despite the fast growth still has a long way to go to catch up with the developed world.
At the end of 2010, 71% of the population in developed countries will be online, compared to only 21% of people in developing countries. Europe making up 65%, Americas 55%, Asia/Pacific 21.9%, leaving a mere 9.6% of the population online in Africa.
The ITU, United Nation’s agency for information and communication technologies, sees the introduction of broadband as the most important element in helping these developing countries “Broadband is the next tipping point, the next truly transformational technology. It can generate jobs, drive growth and productivity and underpin long-term economic competitiveness”, said ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Toure.
This numbers show why companies are investing in ecommerce web design solutions and ensuring their companies website design portrays them More >
Plumbing Website Design Testimonial in Enfield
Oct 19th
We are glad to feature a video testimonial from Andy Garrard of Plumbing Wise in Enfield. We have worked on his original website design providing search engine optimsation and running a successful online advertising campaign with Google PPC (Adwords).
Don’t just take our word for how well we have done for Andy’s plumbing company in Enfield – let him tell you himself.
You can also check out the Plumbing Wise website design and local search engine optimisation resulst by searching for Enfield Plumber, Heating Enfield or just visit his website.
http://www.plumbing-enfield.co.uk
If you need any help with your websites online positions please let us know.
Google Local Has Changed
Oct 19th
With a few tweaks and an interface change, Google has placed location and location-based search front-and-center in its search engine.
The big change, announced earlier today on Google Blog’s, is that Google (Google) has moved the user location setting to the left-hand panel of the search engine results page. This feature automatically detects your current location and tailors search results based on that. For example, searches for “pizza” or “gyms” will provide local business results near your location, which tend to be a lot more relevant than a Wikipedia (Wikipedia) article on everybody’s favorite cheesy snack.
The change rolls out starting today and will be available to users in 40+ languages sometime soon.
Now that the location setting will be on the left side of the search engine results page, users can easily change it if Google gets it wrong or if a user wants to find restaurants near a different location. Say you’re about to travel to Enfield and you want to find the best website design shop near your hotel; all you have to do is type in the new city or post code and Google will adjust search results based on that location.
While nothing has changed in the back-end of More >
Foursquare Will Hit 4 Million Members This Week
Oct 19th
Foursquare are about to reach rthe 4 million member mark this week. The milestone comes roughly 50 days after the location-based mobile game signed its 3 millionth user. This means that Foursquare are adding up to 20,000 users per day.
What is Foursquare?
Foursquare is a mobile phone game that allows you to check in via GPS at locations such as shops, pubs, schools, your home, your street even tesco! You can search for locations near where you are and add new locations if it doesn’t yet exist. You are awarded badges for your explorations / travels and if you check in to a place morew than any other you become the Mayor of that place. You can leave fun tips so others checking in know a little more about the area.
Foursquare For Business
Big brands such as Starbucks, Dominos Pizza and Whetherspoon pubs to name but a few, are catching on and offer deals to the Mayor. For example you receive 20% off your food in any Whetherspoon pub if you check in and your the Mayor.
It is a great game and you can pick up some cool offers too.
Let us know if you use Foursquare and any cool offers out there?
More >First Iphone 4 in Space
Oct 18th
Father and son team based in Brooklyn set out to launch a iPhone 4 and an HD camera into space via a weather balloon. The mission was a success as you can see by the wonderful footage.
Geussbuhler launched the balloon from Newburgh, New York, and it climbed at a rate of 25 feet per second to 19 miles above the surface of the earth just an hour later. The balloon burst and the package containing the iPhone and the camera fell back to the ground on a parachute.
at 100,000 Ft, nearly 19 miles high the 70min voyage ends as the balloon reaches it’s breaking point (being over 18ft wide).
Great video… what would you like to send into space?
404 Error pages for your Website Design & Ecommerce Web Design Projects
Oct 17th
Hitting a dead end page is pretty disappointing, you search, your find and you click eagerly expecting to see what your looking for. To be shown a basic 404 error is pretty frustrating after all your hard work.
HTTP – 404 Page Not Found Sorry, the page you were looking for cannot be found.
What Are Website Design 404 Page Errors Most clients will not understand what a 404 page is will assume your website is down, you not finished the website or you or no longer trading. We have started to implement on both our Website Design and Ecommerce Web Design projects specific 404 page designs to make this annoying little aspect a bit more fun, and to reassure / help your clients to find what they are looking for.
When Do Website Design 404 Page Errors Happen? A 404 page error will appear when a browser tries to access a page that no longer exists on your website. This can happen a few ways. If you are thinking of a Website Redesign for instance, you may have 400 pages listed on Google and if you move your website platform to say WordPress which allows you to integrate a blog and social media much More >
Google In-Page Analytics Provides Visual Context for Traffic Data
Oct 16th
Google (Google) has announced in-page Analytics for its popular web measurement suite Google Analytics. The feature contextualizes Google Analytics (Google Analytics) data by superimposing it directly over a website.
The goal is to help users better understand the correlations between site elements and traffic metrics, allowing them to make more educated design and navigation choices.
Although Google In-Page Analytics is still very much in beta, it already shows strong potential. For a full walkthrough, see the video below.
Google – Billion Dollar Business
Oct 16th
During today’s Q3 earnings call, Google not only discussed its impressive earnings, but it did something it has never done before: It broke down the numbers from some of its key businesses, including YouTube and mobile.
Google CFO Patrick Pichette made it clear in the call that not only had Google (Google) never disclosed these numbers before, but it’s something it probably won’t do in the future, either. This was a one-time glimpse into the current state of Google’s mobile, display advertising and YouTube (YouTube) businesses.
Here are the key numbers that Google SVP of Product Management Jonathan Rosenberg shared during today’s call:
* Display advertising: The company’s annualized run rate for display ad revenues is approaching $2.5 billion, according to Rosenberg. Google called it its next billion dollar business, and that it’s already here. Much of Google’s display ad business comes from its $3.1 billion acquisition of DoubleClick.
* YouTube: While Google didn’t reveal specific revenue numbers for YouTube, the company did say it is monetizing 2 billion views per week, up 50% from last year. Recent reports suggest that YouTube is approaching $1 billion per year in revenue.
* Mobile: The annualized run rate for Google’s mobile business is $1 billion this year. More >
Earn Some Inexpensive Online Exposure for Your Small Business
Oct 16th
So you’ve started a business. You’ve incorporated, you’ve set up a great website and/or blog, and your social media strategy is in place.
Now, if only you could get the word out. Sometimes you need to do more than rub two tweets together to generate a little buzz. If you’ve exhausted your personal social networks, the next step is to reach out to the online media world and get some exposure.
If you’re just starting out, you may not have the capital for a water cooler, let alone a full-time PR agency. But there are a few ways to get your biz covered in the right online circles if you’re willing to put in some time and effort. We spoke to some PR pros to find out how to tap into the online media and get your biz a little exposure without breaking the bank.
Answer Public Media Queries
Bloggers and reporters are always hunting for interesting stories, products and companies to cover and discuss with their audiences. For news outlets and blogs that foster very niche coverage, it’s not always easy to find sources.
That’s where media query services like HARO (Help A Reporter Out) come in. It’s a place where media pitches are sought More >
E-book Sales Up 193% So Far This Year
Oct 16th
While print book sales continue to decline, e-book sales are up 192.9% this year to date, according to figures gathered from 14 publishers by the Association of American Publishers (AAP).
E-books now make up 9% of all trade sales in the U.S.; last year, they made up a mere 3.3%.
E-book sales have reined in $263 million thus far in 2010, and $39 million in August alone — a 172.4% increase over last year’s sales numbers.
Meanwhile, sales of paperback and hardcover books continue to decline across the board. Hardcover sales of children’s and young adult fiction came in at $77.8 million, an 8% decline from the previous month and a 14.6% decline from August of last year. Paperback sales in the category were down 15.1% for the month, a 7.6% decrease year-over-year.
At $83.8 million, adult hardcover book sales actually increased by 5.2% compared to the same period last year, although the category experienced a heavy 24.4% drop from the previous month’s sales. Paperback sales performed similarly, increasing by 4.1% year-over-year at $124.9 million, a 18.3% decline from the previous month.
Print sales are still strong in the education category, however: Hardcover and paperback books posted increases of 10.2% and 15.7% respectively, up roughly More >