RT Blog

Monthly Web Roundup - November 2015

Posted by: Reliance Technology

25
Nov

This month we look at current and future design trends and see some alternative ideas on how to make your website stand out. We also have a look at some great ideas for improving your social media strategy and how content is key! And finally we look at some great ideas for planning your next email campaign and how you can use email marketing to boost your clientele.

As always, if you have any questions feel free to send an email to support@relianceit.com.au or give us a call. We'd be happy to hear from you.
Until next time,

Lucas Bradley
Role: Director
LinkedIn: Connect with me

6 Web Design Trends for 2015 & 2016

Who can forget the GIFs of the ‘90s, or the more up-to-date focus on flat design? Recently, we’ve seen a surge in popularity of responsive web design, as more and more sites join the drive to become ‘mobile ready’ which is now even more important in the wake of Google’s Mobile Friendly update.

Let’s examine some of the most popular for this and the coming year.

3 Ideas for Improving Your Social Media Content Strategy

Every business knows, or should know, the importance of using social media as a marketing tool. Where many struggle, however, is in their social media content strategy. They mistakenly believe that all they need to do is post regularly. But for social media marketing to be effective, posts have to be read, and shared. Here are 3 diverse ideas that will improve your social media marketing.

Simple Email Campaigns for Small Businesses

Most small business owners have a limited budget, and many think if their budget is too restricted, their marketing initiatives will be more difficult to perform in the long run. However, sometimes a simple email campaign can be an effective method of driving sales and conversion. In fact, email promotions can increase your customer acquisitions by at least seven percent every year! Research is constantly proving that email marketing is the most effective way to reach your current customers as well as reach new leads and turn those leads into customers.

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Monthly Web Roundup - October 2015

Posted by: Reliance Technology

15
Oct

This month we look at the much hyped "Mobilegeddon" and see if having a mobile friendly website impacts on your search ranking. We also find out how you can use social media to boost your search rankings and how social media is vital to your SEO strategy. And finally we look at some potential deal breakers when it comes to bad site design and how that could affect your brand.

As always, if you have any questions feel free to send an email to support@relianceit.com.au or give us a call. We'd be happy to hear from you.
Until next time,

Lucas Bradley
Role: Director
LinkedIn: Connect with me

SMB Hit Hardest By Mobilegeddon

Though many consider Mobilegeddon to have been much ado about nothing, digital agency Koozai found that Google's mobile-focused algorithm has had a significant impact on small and medium-sized businesses (SMB).

According to Koozai's May survey of 2,000 SMBs with 50 or fewer employees, 46 percent of respondents have experienced changes in ranking. From that group, 41 percent have seen a drop in rankings by at least three places, resulting in drops in traffic - as much as 50 percent in some cases.

Do Social Media and SEO Impact Google Rankings?

The Internet is an ever-evolving thing, and getting the marketing results you need requires adaptability. You might have stuck with simple SEO “techniques” in the past, but changes in search engine algorithms make it important to realize how important social media sharing is to your overall SEO strategy. With that being said, knowing your current SEO ranking and score is extremely important before even thinking about making any changes.

6 Outdated Web Design Trends

There are a few things that can put the brakes on a solid prospect’s relationship with your brand, and a bad website is among the quickest.

The majority of customers who visit your website will spend less than 15 seconds on the home page before clicking off; this means you have 15 seconds to capture their attention and present them with information that will help them invest interest in your brand.

Unfortunately, many brands are employing outdated, unattractive website design elements and features, increasing the number of prospects who leave their websites before they know the first thing about the company.

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Monthly Web Roundup - June 2015

Posted by: Reliance Technology

12
Jun

This month, we have included some information about making apps. We are also sharing a few tips on how to maximise the returns from your email campaigns along with an article on improving social media posts.

As always, if you have any questions feel free to send an email to support@relianceit.com.au or give us a call. We'd be happy to hear from you.
Until next time,

     James Hall
     Role: Web Designer
     LinkedIn: Connect with me

Answers To The Tech Questions You're Too Embarrassed To Ask

How do you make an app?

iOS apps begin their lives as lines of computer code written in a programming language called Objective-C. You'll have to be a fairly savvy programmer to create anything complex, but there are lots of beginner tutorials a Google search away.

If you want to ever submit an iOS app to the App Store, you have to pay an annual $US99 fee to register as an Apple developer.

Email Campaign Tips

Email campaigns are a popular and effective method for reaching out to customers and promoting your business. There are a few ways you can help increase the amount of customer opens and make sure your newsletters aren't being caught in spam filters. Simply reviewing the subject line, including an unsubscribe link and a physical mailing address can significantly reduce the spam score of the email campaign, meaning it is much more likely to land in the client's inbox. The subject line should be simple, for example "[COMPANYNAME] Sales & Marketing Newsletter." Avoid wording such as "Valentines - Shop Early & Save 10%."

Many newsletters are opened using mobile devices, which means it is important to make sure your email campaigns are mobile compatible.

The 12-Point Social Media Checklist For Writing Amazing Posts

What makes a wildly successful, viral and valuable social media update? To do right by your audience, to deliver the utmost value and receive the maximum engagement, there are a handful of qualifications that every social media post should meet. Some of these include simple checks like making sure the URL is correct, doing a thorough spell chek and making sure the post is an appropriate length to ensure readers stay engaged. You should also make sure the post is educational or entertaining, contains the right keywords and hashtags to maximise exposure and that you are comfortable with absolutely anyone seeing the post.

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Monthly Web Roundup - March 2015

Posted by: Reliance Technology

11
Mar

This month, we help explain what "cloud" computing is and what it's used for. We have also included an invitation to a small business breakfast in Dubbo to help you make the most of the web along with an article on CAPTCHA web site form security, and how it's evolving.

As always, if you have any questions feel free to send an email to support@relianceit.com.au or give us a call. We'd be happy to hear from you.
Until next time,

     Sophie Kremer
     Role: Team Assistant
     LinkedIn: Connect with me

Answers To The Tech Questions You're Too Embarrassed To Ask

What is a cloud?

'Cloud' services are those that run on remote servers, letting you access data over the Internet without having to store it on local devices. Examples include: Xero, Azure, Dropbox, Google Apps and iCloud.

Breakfast with Google - Putting Dubbo Businesses on the Map

Google and ACCI would like to invite you to a small business breakfast in Dubbo on the 31st of March to help you make the most of the web. You will learn easy steps you can take to make sure your own business can be found online and hear from a local business owner who has used the internet to successfully grow their business. Google Australia’s Head of Small Business will also be there to share his insights with you.

You will walk away from the session knowing which of Google’s free and paid products you can use immediately to get your business online, or if your business is already online to make the most of it. You will also be introduced to a local certified Google Partner who can get you started.

The event will take place between 8:00am - 10:00am on Tuesday 31st March 2015, at the Dubbo Regional Theatre and Convention Centre, 155 Darling St. Registration opens at 7.40am. It’s free to attend and breakfast will be provided.

We are limited to 100 places so if you would like to attend please RSVP by clicking here.

Between 10am and 2pm, there will also be an open workshop for business owners who wish to talk to a Google Expert about getting on the internet or growing online using Google’s tools. No booking is required - just pop along and we’ll answer your questions.

Google is killing CAPTCHA as we know it

If you've signed up for an online account recently or filled in a contact form, you've probably seen it: a quick test that gives you a few distorted words and asks you to type them back in plain text. The official name is CAPTCHA, a test designed to weed out the automated scripts used for spam, but Google recently showed off a system that could crack it 99.8 percent of the time.

Late last year, Google unveiled No-CAPTCHA; instead of asking users to pass a test, Google's new system pre-screens each user's behavior and filters out anyone who's easily identifiable as human. Most users will simply see a check mark — click the box and you've passed the test — while anyone marked as suspicious will be given a more elaborate test.

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Monthly Web Roundup - February 2015

Posted by: Reliance Technology

23
Feb

2015 is in full swing; the holidays are long gone, business is back to normal and it's shaping up to be a fantastic year.

In this edition of the monthly newsletter, we have included an article that introduces a new website created by Google that explains how Google search works. Also included this month is an article that explains sizes, dimensions, and post length on different social media sites and 5 quick design tips to help you increase the amount of visitors to your website.

If you have any questions feel free to send an email to support@relianceit.com.au or give us a call. We'd be happy to hear from you.
Until next time,

Peta Reardon
Role: Web Development Team Leader
LinkedIn: Connect with me

Google Explains 'How Search Works' With New Interactive Site

If you've ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes every time someone types a query into Google Search, a new animated website called "How Search Works" has been launched by Google to explain it all. The website is an interactive scrolling graphic, broken into three distinct sections: one on Google's massive web-crawling and indexing operation (covering 30 trillion pages), another on its alogrithms and ranking strategy, and a final section on how it fights and removes spam.

The Definitive Social Media Dimensions Cheat Sheet

Social networks are constantly changing their appearance to keep up with the needs of their subscribers.

It can be frustrating to design your brand’s page, only to find out that the wrong sized photo was used, or it’s showing only a portion of what you intended the post to show.

An infographic on everything you need to know about sizes, dimensions, and post length has been created to help you with social media.

5 Quick Design Tips To Get More Website Visitors

Creating content for web users is always a challenge, but engaging customers can be even more difficult.

Ensuring your visitors are happy with site design is just the first step. You also need to find ways to keep visitors engaged with your content, stay longer and keep coming back. Following are five simple tips on how to increase engagement and get more visitors to your site.

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Thankyou ImajenIT Commercial Photography

Posted by: Reliance Technology

30
Jan

The Reliance team recently had the pleasure of working with Jenet from ImajenIT Commercial Photography.

Jenet visited our offices in Dubbo and in a short period captured a comprehensive series of photos for us.

Due to the nature of our business, we may not always get to see the customer we are assisting, and more importantly, they cannot always see us.

It helps that we have a pretty good looking team too, we couldn’t quite manage to get the whole team together for a group shot, but those here on the day were looking the goods!

If you're looking for high quality professional photos, we have no hesitation in recommending Jenet at ImajenIT Commercial Photography.

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Monthly Web Roundup - January 2015

Posted by: Reliance Technology

14
Jan

Happy New Year! Welcome to the January 2015 edition of our regular newsletter. I trust you had a safe and relaxing Christmas / New Year break.

We’ve focused this edition on the year ahead as most start to head back to work. The New Year is as good a time as any think about new ways to market your business and get your name out there. So we’ve included some articles on upcoming design trends and some ways of reviewing your online marketing footprint.

As always, if we can be of any assistance feel free to email us at support@relianceit.com.au or call. We'd be happy to hear from you.

Until next time,

     Lucas Bradley
     Role: Director
     LinkedIn: Connect with me

7 Resolutions Online Businesses Should Make for 2015

Over the past few years, the design styles of many websites has evolved quite a bit as has the devices used to access the internet. This presents some challenges for developers and designers to continually meet end user expectations. So let’s have a look at the predicted web design trends in 2015.

7 Resolutions Online Businesses Should Make for 2015

It's that time of year when people start thinking about what they are going to do differently or change in the New Year. So what should ecommerce businesses resolve to do, in terms of improving their website's design and content, in 2015?

A number of online business owners, Web designers and digital marketers share what they think are the top seven design and content resolutions every ecommerce business should think about -- or resolve to do -- this coming year.

Is social media the best way to reach young consumers?

Social media has become a valuable marketing tool, mainly for its ability to connect with a broad range of online consumers at the same time. But because of the indirect way social marketing works, it can be hard to measure immediate results.

In Australia, the majority of businesses have invested time and money into creating a presence on social networking sites, but only 58 per cent of marketers believe it is effective, according to the Content Marketing Institute.

However, a recent study by SDL has found that social media may be the key to reaching younger consumers.

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Happy Holidays 2014

Posted by: Reliance Technology

12
Dec

On behalf of everyone at Reliance Technology I would like to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a happy, safe and relaxing New Year.

The Reliance Technology office will be closed over Christmas and New Year. Limited staff will remain on call for emergency call outs from the afternoon of Friday 19 December, until we return to business as usual on Monday 5 January 2015.

Best wishes and a grateful thank you to our clients, suppliers and friends for all of your support during 2014 from all the team at Reliance Technology.

     Lucas Bradley
     Role: Web Designer
     LinkedIn: Connect with me

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Monthly Web Roundup - November 2014

Posted by: Reliance Technology

11
Nov

Welcome to the November edition of our monthly newsletter. Christmas is only a short time away and many people are already preparing for the holidays and New Year. To help you prepare, we have included an article on the 7 crucial web design trends for 2015.

Have you ever wondered why ads follow you around the internet? We have an explanation to shed some light on this. We have also included an article that will help you decide when to post online.

As always, if you have any questions feel free to send an email to support@relianceit.com.au or give us a call. We'd be happy to hear from you.
Until next time,

     Lucas Bradley
     Role: Director
     LinkedIn: Connect with me

Answers To The Tech Questions You're Too Embarrassed To Ask

Why do ads follow me around the Internet?

A quick Google search of 'dog food' will almost certainly result in a bombardment of all kinds of pet and dog related advertisements.

This is because almost all of Google's advertising revenue is derived from AdWords (ads based on what you searched for). For example, a Miami-based law firm might buy the search terms 'Miami law firm' and get prominent placement next to a list of related search results.

A Google 'cookie' is your identifying factor and corresponds to a spot in a computer database telling the ad software to show you ads for dog related items.

7 Crucial Web Design Trends For 2015

Looking back at 2014, we can see some spectacular trends emerging in the web design landscape: code-free design platforms, parallax effects, single-page websites, and many more.

While many design trends are fleeting, a select few are natural evolutions of the industry. As the range of devices on which we view websites continues to grow, designers must constantly adapt their workflow to meet the dynamic changes that are occurring in web design.

When's The Best Time To Post Online?

Figuring out the type of content your target audience is going to find engaging is only part of the battle – it’s also important to make sure they actually see your content. So when is the best time to post online?

Studies have shown that when it comes to social media marketing, the best times to post differs depending on the platform.

Continue Reading →

Monthly Web Roundup - October 2014

Posted by: Reliance Technology

07
Oct

Hello again! How was your long weekend? It's been an eventful last week with labour day, the rugby league grand final, and how about the lunar eclipse!

In this edition, we have an alert about the Australia Post email scam that is going around. We are also going to look at some common mistakes that are made when it comes to creating or designing a business logo, along with a great comparison of the 2 major players in the game of Search Engines. Google vs Bing.

If you have any questions feel free to send an email to support@relianceit.com.au or give us a call. We'd be happy to hear from you.
Until next time,

     James Hall
     Role: Web Designer
     LinkedIn: Connect with me

Australia Post email scam on rise again

Australia Post is warning customers of emails which advise that a "courier" was unable to deliver a parcel to their address. Australia Post does not request customers to remit a payment for parcel collection, nor does it charge customers for holding a parcel.

The aim of this email scam is to install malicious software such as 'ransomware' which can 'take over' your computer files. Prevention is the best approach to any malware. It's vital that you know the warning signs of a phishing scam. Never download and run software from the internet unless you are absolutely certain it is safe. If you are unsure, ask your technical support provider.

If you receive this email, please delete it.

5 Common Mistakes in Business Logo Design

While people in certain fields take logo design really seriously (graphic designers and architects for instance) it’s one of those things a lot of entrepreneurs in various fields take for granted. Let’s be honest - when was the last time you saw a logo for an insurance company that really held your attention?

A logo should do a few things:

Set you apart from the competition
Build trust, and
Help you sell whatever you’ve got to sell

Google vs Bing - A Comparison

In Australia, Google is the dominant search engine used, claiming a market share in excess of 90%.

Throughout the year, however, Microsoft has been taking steps to try and increase Bing's placement against Google, with the hopes of earning more Australian adopters. And while it hasn't exactly been a success story, Bing is ever-so-slightly increasing its market share. Lets look at 7 features of both search engines and how they compare to one another.

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RT Blog

Monthly Web Roundup - November 2015

Monthly Web Roundup - October 2015

Monthly Web Roundup - June 2015

Monthly Web Roundup - March 2015

Monthly Web Roundup - February 2015

Thankyou ImajenIT Commercial Photography

Monthly Web Roundup - January 2015

7 Resolutions Online Businesses Should Make for 2015

7 Resolutions Online Businesses Should Make for 2015

Is social media the best way to reach young consumers?

Happy Holidays 2014

Monthly Web Roundup - November 2014

Monthly Web Roundup - October 2014

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