Ipswich Websites news and updates

Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO): What Your Business Needs to Know

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Sun, 12 Jan 2025 21:01:13 GMT

Want to stand out online and win more customers? It's not enough to just have a website. You need to be the answer your customers are searching for. That's where Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO) comes in.

What is AEO?

Think of AEO as the next generation of SEO. It's all about optimising your online presence to provide direct, concise answers to user queries – whether they're typing a question into Google or asking Siri or Alexa.

Why is AEO important for your business?

Get Found First: AEO helps your business jump to the top of search results. Imagine a potential customer searching "best plumber near me". With AEO, your business is the first thing they see!
Win More Customers: When you provide the best and most helpful answers, you build trust and authority. Customers are more likely to choose a business that seems like an expert.
Dominate Voice Search: More and more people are using voice assistants. AEO helps you capture those "near me" searches and drive local traffic to your business.
Boost Your Brand: AEO positions you as the go-to expert in your field. It shows you understand your customers' needs and have the answers they're looking for.

How can you implement AEO for your business?

Know what your customers are asking: Think about the questions your customers typically have. What problems are they trying to solve?
Create content that provides answers: Develop informative and engaging content that directly answers those questions. Use clear and concise language.
Structure your content for easy reading (and for search engines): Use headings, bullet points, and numbered lists to make your content easy to scan.
Use schema markup: This is a bit technical, but it helps search engines understand your content and deliver it as a direct answer. A good SEO expert can help with this!
Optimize for voice search: Use natural language and long-tail keywords (like "how to fix a leaky faucet in my bathroom").
Track your results: Use analytics tools to see what's working and what's not.

Need help with AEO?

If you're feeling overwhelmed, don't worry! Our team or agencies like In Cahoots Co specialise in AEO. They can help you:

Conduct in-depth keyword research
Create high-quality, SEO-optimized content
Implement technical SEO strategies
Monitor your website's performance

Ready to be found online in Ipswich, Brisbane and beyond?

Don't get left behind. Embrace the power of AEO and watch your business thrive! Connect with us today!

Stand Out from Crowd with Professional Web Development in Ipswich

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Wed, 01 Jan 2025 18:28:51 GMT

Key Features of a Great Business Web site in 2025

In 2025, having web presence isn't just an option—it's a necessity ... but you probably know that already. And with more and more people using AI for search, ranking in search engines outside of Google is more important that ever (looking at you Bing).

For businesses in Ipswich, standing out from crowd much requires many than just a good idea; it demands a website that really reflects your brand's (aka your business) essence. A well-crafted website non only attracts new visitors but too converts them into fast clients.

Key Takeaways

Professional web design builds credibility, trust
Local Ipswich agencies like ours and In Cahoots Co offer personal consultations in our office
A well-designed website boosts user engagement and conversion rates
Your website is your source of truth, and central other marketing activities like paid ads ( Google, Meta etc )

Key Features of a Great Business Web site

A truly effective business website prioritises user-friendly navigation. Visitors should be able to locate information quickly and easily, without feeling lost. Simple right? A well-structured website guides visitors seamlessly, enhancing their overall experience and satisfaction.

In today's mobile-first world, responsive design is essential. Your website should display beautifully on all devices, from desktops to smartphones. Fast loading speeds are equally crucial, as they improve user satisfaction and can even boost your search engine ranking. After all, no one enjoys waiting for a page to load - which is why we only work with trusted hosting providers .

Clear calls-to-action are another vital component. These encourage visitors to take specific actions, such as signing up for a newsletter, making a purchase, or contacting your team. Compelling content and visuals also play a key role in engaging visitors and effectively communicating your brand message. A well-designed website should harmoniously blend all these elements to create a memorable online experience

Benefits of Professional Web Development - why DIY might actually cost you

Choosing professional web development offers numerous advantages . Experienced developers craft websites that are both functional and visually appealing, ensuring your site not only performs well but also makes a strong impression. This attention to detail can significantly impact how your brand is perceived online.

Web developers also prioritise search engine optimisation, ensuring your website ranks highly in search results and attracts more visitors. They seamlessly integrate essential tools like e-commerce platforms and analytics, providing you with the resources necessary for success in the digital marketplace. After all, your website should be a business asset ... not just look pretty!

Furthermore, ongoing support and maintenance ensure your website runs smoothly. With professional web development, you receive custom solutions tailored to the specific needs of your business. This ensures your online presence evolves alongside your brand in the ever-changing digital landscape

Enhancing Online Presence

A well-designed website is more than just aesthetically pleasing; it significantly enhances your brand's online visibility. Consistent branding across your website reinforces your company's identity, making it easily recognizable to potential customers. This extends to social media integration, which broadens your reach and engagement.

Search engine optimisation (SEO) strategies are crucial for improving your site's discoverability. By implementing effective SEO practices, your website can achieve higher search engine rankings, attracting more visitors and potential clients. Regular updates and fresh content encourage repeat visits, fostering a loyal customer base.

Put simply, investing in professional web design means more than simply building a website; it's creating a dynamic platform that showcases your brand, engages your audience, and drives business growth.

Incorporate Digital Marketing Strategies into Web Design

Integrating digital marketing strategies into your web design can significantly enhance your site's effectiveness. An SEO-friendly design increases your website's visibility in search results, driving more traffic and potential customers to your business. Targeted landing pages are another key component, improving campaign effectiveness and boosting conversion rates.

Analytics tools provide valuable insights into your marketing efforts, allowing you to track and measure the success of your campaigns. By understanding which strategies are working, you can make informed decisions to optimise your marketing approach. Social media links on your site encourage sharing and engagement, extending your reach and promoting your brand.

In the beyond crazy fast-paced world of digital marketing, staying ahead of the curve is essential. By incorporating these strategies into your web design, you can create an online business platform that drives growth and success

Meeting your expectations

Custom web development focuses on fulfilling the unique goals and needs of your business . By creating distinctive features and functionalities, developers can design a site tailored to your specific requirements. This level of personalisation sets custom development apart from off-the-shelf solutions.

Providing personalised user experiences increases customer satisfaction and loyalty. When visitors feel that a website is designed with their needs in mind, they are more likely to engage with your brand and become repeat customers. The adaptability of custom development also allows for future growth and adaptation, ensuring your site can evolve alongside your business - this is super important and often an aspect people forget.

Communication is key in custom web development projects. By working closely with developers, you can ensure your vision is accurately realised, resulting in a website that not only meets but exceeds your expectations. This collaborative approach is what makes custom development such a valuable tool for businesses in Ipswich and beyond

Choosing The Right Web Design Agency in Ipswich

When you're ready to create or revamp your business website, choosing the right web design agency is crucial. Ipswich-based designers possess a unique understanding of the local market and audience preferences, making them an ideal choice for businesses looking to make their mark in the community. Furthermore, local agencies (like .. ahem, ours) offer the advantage of face-to-face meetings , which can be invaluable for discussing project specifics and building a strong working relationship.

Before selecting an agency, take a close look at their portfolio and client testimonials. This research will give you valuable insights into their expertise and the quality of their designs. A reputable Ipswich web design agency should offer end-to-end services, from initial planning to the final launch, ensuring a consistent and seamless experience for you.

Effective communication is key to any successful project. Ensure your chosen agency is responsive and willing to listen to your ideas and feedback. A good Ipswich website design team will work closely with you to bring your vision to life, crafting a site that meets your business needs and resonates with your target audience

Maximising your business opportunities online

A well-designed website is a powerful tool for attracting and retaining customers. By increasing your online visibility, you can reach a wider audience, leading to increased sales and revenue. Efficient user pathways streamline the purchasing process, making it easier for visitors to become customers.

Positive user experiences encourage word-of-mouth recommendations, further expanding your customer base. A scalable website supports your business as it grows and evolves, ensuring your online presence remains polished and effective. From hosting solutions to logo design and website development, a comprehensive approach to web design can unlock your business's full potential.

In conclusion, investing in professional web development in Ipswich is a smart move for any business aiming to stand out from the competition. With a cohesive blend of design, development, and marketing strategies, your website can become a valuable asset that drives growth and success. Contact Ben Hayward today to discuss your unique requirements and let's get you online!

Before you build an e-commerce website ... read this

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Mon, 30 Dec 2024 18:25:04 GMT

Before you begin: Key things you need to consider before building an e-commerce website

Your e-commerce checklist

Ongoing maintenance and integration into advertising platforms

The next major thing to consider is if you can invest the time into maintaining your own site, and integrate other things down the track, such as tracking codes for digital ads or integrating a payment gateway. Not all platforms are built the same, and if you find yourself requiring assistance to add a new feature or be found for the right keywords, you might come unstuck if your earlier decision to ‘save money’ is a website builder comes back to haunt you due to limited feature sets or plugin options. Do you have the time and expertise to build custom landing pages for digital campaigns, implement tracking and setup reporting?

As you can see, there could possibly be longer term business consequences for taking the DIY approach instead of working with a dedicated website agency when building your site.

Looking for a local Ipswich website designer? Connect with our team today for an obligation free chat to discuss your project.

What to look for in a website in 2023

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Tue, 29 Aug 2023 08:05:51 GMT

Looking to build a new website in 2023? Here are some things to consider.

User Experience (UX):

Your website must offer a seamless experience. Navigation should feel natural with a coherent structure, and each design element should foster intuitiveness. This is particularly important when building E-Commerce websites.

Content Clarity:

Ipswich audiences value information that's both pertinent, helpful and engaging. Your content must resonate, being both useful and concise, tailored to your industry audience.

Efficient Functionality:

Websites that resonate are those that are generally "flawless in function". They load at lightning speed, especially on mobile devices, and are devoid of glitches or bugs. A smooth experience is essential!

Aesthetic Resonance:

What the heck does that mean? A great website designer crafts sites that are not just visually arresting but also mirror the brand ethos and resonate with the target demographic.

Inclusive Accessibility:

Your website should be universally accessible. Implement techniques like image alt texts and methodical heading structures to ensure everyone, including those with disabilities, can navigate with ease. This is pretty important!

Fortified Security:

The safety of your users is paramount. An exemplary Ipswich website design ensures user data protection and robust security measures.

SEO Mastery:

Being visible in search results is essential. Harness the power of SEO by integrating keyword strategy, meta tags, and other techniques. This ensures your Ipswich-based website shines bright in search results. We can help you here!

To conclude, an outstanding website is the perfect balance user-friendliness, engaging content, great functionality, aesthetic allure, inclusivity, ironclad security, and robust SEO.

Are you in Ipswich or Springfield Lakes and looking for an expert website designer? Reach out to us. We have a penchant for empowering businesses in Ipswich and the surrounding regions with top-tier web solutions. Let's discuss your aspirations and web requirements today.

What factors contribute to a great website?

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Tue, 20 Dec 2022 01:26:30 GMT

Seven things that you need to have for a great website in 2022

There are several factors that can contribute to making a website great. Some key considerations include:

User experience: A great website should be easy to use and navigate, with clear and intuitive design elements and a logical structure.

Content: The content on a great website should be informative, relevant, and engaging, and should be presented in a clear and concise manner.

Functionality: A great website should function properly and be free of errors or bugs. It should also load quickly and be optimised for mobile devices.

Aesthetics: A great website should have a visually appealing design that is consistent with the brand's image and appeals to the target audience.

Accessibility: A great website should be accessible to users with disabilities, using techniques such as alt text for images and proper heading structures.

Security: A great website should be secure and protect the privacy of its users.

Search engine optimisation: (SEO) A great website should be optimised for search engines, using techniques such as keyword research and meta tags to improve its visibility in search results.

Overall, a great website should be user-friendly, informative, functional, visually appealing, accessible, secure, and optimised for search engines in order to effectively achieve its goals and provide a positive experience for users.

Looking for a local Ipswich and Springfield Lakes website designer? Connect with us today to have a chat about your website requirements. We specialise in working with growing businesses across Ipswich and beyond.

You built it and they didn’t come. What you need to consider when building your own website!

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Tue, 29 Nov 2022 02:58:29 GMT

Building a website has never been more accessible or consumer friendly. With the rise of web builders like Squarespace, Wix, GoDaddy and others, many small business owners jump at the change to ‘save costs’ by creating a website themselves.

Are you really saving money taking the DIY approach?

In the short term, and looking through a purely transactional lens, you can argue that you are. Depending on what you need, you have ‘saved’ yourself a few thousand dollars at this point. What happens next is where this ‘saving’ can turn into a headache.

A business tool vs a static presence

Every great website needs a great user experience and quality content; words, imagery, video etc. Some industries require a heavy emphasis on quality imagery, others may require an emphasis on creative copywriting but most require all of the above.

The content is important on many fronts, including driving traffic to the site, engaging visitors once they visit and helping to convert visitors to customers.

You’ll need great imagery to make that ever important first impression (particularly if you are running an e-commerce business) but this also extends to highly visual industries like hospitality, hair dressing, builders and accommodation providers. If your site is going to be a genuine business tool, you are far better to engage a professional to design and build your site from the ground up. A digital website agency (like Ipswich Websites) will provide tailored advice and design the site to be a real business tool that attracts the right traffic and makes a great first impression.

Ongoing maintenance and integration into advertising platforms

As you can see, there could possibly be longer term business consequences for taking the DIY approach instead of working with a dedicated website agency when building your site.

Looking for a local Ipswich website designer? Connect with our team today for an obligation free chat to discuss your project.

The best way to engage with a web design agency

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Mon, 27 Jun 2022 04:30:21 GMT

Tips to save you money, time and to get the website you want without stress!

If you’ve made the decision to build a new website, or upgrade from an existing DIY site, you’ve made a positive move.

Congratulations!

As the client, you are in the driver’s seat and it’s important you outline exactly what you are after, so you save time, money and importantly stress.

Get prepared

Depending on the scope of the engagement or what has been agreed to, it’s important you have several things ready to provide your website designer as they will need information from you to get the ball rolling before a single page is created. By taking the time to gather your information up front, you will save yourself from countless ‘quick question’ emails and thus deliver your project sooner!

Logo or style guide: This will be invaluable to ensure the site is a true extension of your business and consistent with other branding materials you have associated with your business. If you have the original design files for your logo, it's even better! Low resolution logo jpegs here just won’t cut it.

What your business does: This one is important as unless you have agreed for the designer to work with a copywriter, they will not be able to easily create this content for you … after all, it’s your business and nobody knows it better than you. A big tip here is to provide as much content as you possibly can, and if you have the budget, work with a copywriter to make it the best it can be. Your website designer needs to know where to put all this information within their page designs. If you are building an e-commerce site, this also means that you have your product descriptions ready, returns policy and privacy policy. Your website designer cannot make this up for you.

Your style: Think of a website style you admire and let your website designer know. This will save you a lot of stress and frustration as they then have a framework to work within. If you leave it up to the designer with no guidance on your preferred style, you may be disappointed with the result, causing project delays. Don’t forget, your website designer will have a fair idea of functional designs and what works for different types of sites and devices and will work with you to find a solution within the agreed budget.

Key business details: Provide your ABN, or trade licenses or any other information that your designer may need to display on the site. Don’t ask for them to search for it via ABN registers as they may pick the wrong business number …

Your social media channels: If you have social media channels associated with the business, be sure to share them with the website designer. Ideally, they will ask for this information during the discovery phase, however, if they don’t, make sure to provide it so they can link from your page.

Imagery and video: If you envisage your site having imagery and video, be sure to gather this in one location ready to share with your website designer. Setting aside in a cloud storage folder is a great way to share larger file sizes and prevent unnecessary email bounces because attachments are too large. Your designer will then have one location … a ‘source of truth’ for the project to find assets.

What is the purpose of your website: This one can be easily forgotten as many business owners just want a website up and running quickly. It’s important to remember that your website is a valuable business tool, and the purpose of the site will dictate the design, copywriting and style. Have a chat with your website designer about your goals and they will design a site to best facilitate them!

Be available: Your website designer will have questions throughout the process or may need approval to add certain plugins or other elements. Don’t sit on those emails … your project will just be delayed as the designer waits to implement those elements. At the same time, if you have sent requests to your designer and you haven’t heard back, make sure to reach out to them to confirm they understand your instructions.

Overall by being an active participant in the website design process, you are less likely to face delays, frustrations or extra redesign work. Clear communication will set expectations for all parties involved and ensure that your website is looking its best and delivered on time.

At Ipswich Websites, we take the time to learn about what your goals are and provide a transparent quote so you can see where costs lie and make an informed decision. We build sites around your business, with careful consideration of how you can get the most from your investment by building it right the first time. If you are looking to build a new website, reach out to Ben Hayward here for a complimentary discovery session.

Enhance your blog game for 2022. Why optimised imagery matters.

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Sat, 09 Apr 2022 20:49:13 GMT

In a world of short format videos, does the humble blog still have a role to play within your business content strategy? Spoiler … it does! While the words are the centrepiece, there are other important aspects to consider when creating your blogs, particularly when it comes to imagery.

Traffic, brand building and more sales …

In a world of short attention spans and time poor people, it can be easy to forget and overlook the value of creating original blog content for your website – and by extension – social media channels. A well designed and creative blog can achieve some great results by,

Providing content that drives traffic to your website
Position your brand/business as a thought leader within your niche
Educate and inform existing or potential new customers
Highly sharable via social media platforms

These are just some of the benefits of blogs overall, however today we are going to focus on optimisation of supporting assets.

1. Why optimising and choosing the right imagery is important

You’ve crafted a beautiful blog and are ready to upload to your website. Fantastic! Now it’s time to make sure your blog is looking the part before you share it with the world. In this article, we’re going to quickly explore the following,

Image files sizes (super important)
Captions
Using the right file types
Alt text for images (this can be easy to forget)
Thumbnails
Lazy loading

If you are a client of In Cahoots Co or Ipswich Websites and have completed your website training, these topics will be familiar to you. Reach out if you have any questions about further training here.

2. Image file sizes - keep 'em lean

Websites with large image files to load are slower. It’s that simple. And while we may be measuring this in milliseconds … to seconds (ouch), it will make a huge difference when it comes to SEO and search rankings. The larger the file, the longer it takes for your browser to render the data. Using a smaller file size does not mean the image has to be poor quality. There are plenty of free tools out there to assist you compress imagery for use on the web.

Beginner tip: Do not just upload an image straight from your phone to your blog. This file will be large (for a website) and will impact load times and overall user experience.

3. Captions. Super important.

Don’t forget to use descriptive captions to capture the attention of the reader. Let’s face it, while not everyone will read your entire blog, they will more than likely skim and see an image before reading its caption. If your caption and image are great, then there is an increased chance your content will be read in its entirety.

4. Using the right file types. No, they are not all the same!

The most common file types used are .JPEG, .GIF, .PNG and WEBP. Each file type should be used in different scenarios.

For example, did you know that JPEGs are best suited for images, while .PNG are better to use with imagery that contains text, charts and other detailed illustrations? Again, regardless of format, it’s important to ensure these files have been compressed to load quickly on your site. A relatively newer format, WEBP was created by Google to ultimately be a replacement for other file formats on the web to create high quality imagery with smaller file sizes.

5. Alt text. Do not forget to include this one!

Adding SEO friendly Alt text to your images is not only important for SEO, it allows your website to be accessed by vision impaired users who use screen readers. Enter text that describes your image in an SEO friendly way, improving the chances of your images being ranked higher under the image tabs of search engines.

6. Thumbnails ... don't overdo it

Put simply, when there are too many thumbnails on a webpage (think a heap of images under a related posts section) page load speeds will suffer, and Google doesn’t like that. You can learn more about Google Core Web Vitals here to see how pages are measured and ranked against various scores.

7. Lazy loading. It’s okay to be a little lazy sometimes

Lazy loading is where images only load once a visitor has scrolled down to a certain point on the page, the image will load. This can reduce initial load times (again good for Google Core Web Vitals) by reducing the page ‘weight’. There are other benefits such as reducing the workload for your browser and improving the experience for visitors with limited bandwidth (or poor mobile reception) as we can sometimes experience here in Australia.

There are many benefits to working a local Ipswich Web Designer. Number one is that you can actually call us and have a chat anytime or visit us in-person! Imagine that. We love working with local businesses and start-ups to bring web projects to life. If you are looking for the perfect balance of design, business functionality and user friendly tools then you are in the right place. Connect with Ipswich Websites today to discuss your project.

6 reasons to consider Google Performance Max Campaigns

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Mon, 14 Mar 2022 08:27:28 GMT

1. More Focus on a Target Audience

What's better than a massive, optimised audience? A laser-focused, niche-oriented audience. With performance max campaigns, your ads show only to people most likely to convert-meaning that you can spend more time fine-tuning your strategy and spending less time chasing leads who aren't ready for your product or service.

2. Better Performance

Because AdWords is built around performance, you can spend more time making your campaigns better, rather than wasting hours on non-working keywords. With Google Performance Max campaigns, your ads will only run when they're meant to-when users are ready to convert-and they'll be laser-focused on specific search terms relevant to your product or service. The result? Fewer wasted clicks and higher conversion rates if you collaborate with an Ipswich Agency that can help you with Google Ads.

3. Goal-Focused Campaign

First, it's much easier to focus your campaign around specific goals-like online store visits or clicks to your store-instead of trying to get people to do any and everything. This way, you won't be wasting money trying to get people to download a white paper they don't care about. Instead, with Performance Max campaigns, you can target those folks who are most likely to click on an ad-as well as offer them immediate value for doing so (your product!).

Since it's possible to create multiple ads that point to one destination (or landing page), you can also customise individual messages for specific users. Plus, even though these types of campaigns tend to cost more than standard text-based ads over time, they provide more-than-acceptable ROI when used correctly.

4. Ease of Setting Up

A standard AdWords campaign can be pretty laborious to set up-which is why, of course, many advertisers choose to outsource their PPC management. But if you're committed to learning how to set up and manage an AdWords campaign yourself (and reap all its potential rewards), then consider giving Google Performance Max a try. There are various companies that offers these services, but you can rely on trusted companies for Google Ads in Ipswich, including In Cahoots Co.

5. Full Channel Coverage and Holistic Approach

Google's constant algorithm updates have made it difficult for DIY marketers within businesses to properly measure their online success. With full channel coverage and a holistic approach, you can now accurately report your results and maximise all of your online advertising investments with Google's new performance-based ad platform.

6. Ad Schedule and Location Visibility

First and foremost, you should have a basic idea of where your business is located (or will be located). Google's location-based targeting lets you show ads to customers in specific zip codes, counties, cities or metro areas. When used in conjunction with ad scheduling, optimising your ads for certain times of day can help drive more traffic to your store during peak hours.

Amping up! What is AMP and why you should explore accelerated mobile pages

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Sat, 14 Aug 2021 07:15:06 GMT

What is AMP and why you should explore accelerated mobile pages

As the headline suggests, AMP stands for Accelerate Mobile Pages. It is an open source framework (launched by Google and others) to create mobile websites that almost load instantly!

Sounds awesome? Yes, it is. It’s also open source which means everyone can play nicely with this technology.

Why should you use it?

With the primary goal to improve the loading speed of mobile pages (where a significant amount of your traffic would come from) you can see what the immediate impact would be. An instantly loading website (we are talking tenths of a second) means a very positive first user impression.

Here are some reasons to consider AMP pages,

If a large proportion of your visitors and traffic are coming from mobile devices. You can find out more here by accessing your analytical tools.

Say good bye to slow page loads. If your site is not optimised for mobile devices, then you should make it a priority.

Lower those bounce rates! A user will not bounce off elsewhere waiting for your page to load. According to Google, 53% of visitors bounce from a page that takes more than 3 seconds to load and worse…. 79% will abandon a site with poor overall performance. You need to capture your visitors attention quickly and AMP can play a role here.

You are spending up on paid ads.

How to I get it?

Depending on the role your website plays in your business, Ipswich Websites clients can have this technology implemented from day one! During your consultation, we’ll identify if AMP pages are right for your business or project. Does it cost extra? Nope - we’ll include it in your build.

Looking for a web designer that understands that your website is a key business tool. Ipswich Websites builds websites around your business goals.

Your website needs to be optimi sed, updated and act as a central source of truth for you business and brand. We also provide training and support, empowering local business to create content on their website and manage e-commerce stores! It's for these reasons that people choose to partner with Ipswich Websites across Ipswich, Brisbane and beyond!

What is the Google Merchant Centre?

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Tue, 22 Jun 2021 03:29:25 GMT

A great (free) platform that can help your e-commerce sales!

Are you aware of how the Google Merchant Centre could help your Ipswich small business?

The Google Merchant Centre is a platform that allows your business to connect with online shoppers. Below, we'll cover how you can get in on the action by setting up your own merchant centre and what it means for your business.

Setting up a Google Merchant Centre

The first step in getting set up with the Google Merchant Centre is creating an account . Once signed in, you’ll be able to claim and brand your business. This is a free, simple process and takes only a few minutes and you'll cover things like where you want customers to check-out ie on your site, or at your shopfront.

When you have your account setup, it’s time to build your store. To start, you’ll need to choose the kind of business you want your merchant centre to represent.

Shop: Lets you create an online store with product listings and reviews, shipping information, and payment options.

Examples: Etsy , Amazon Storefront , eBay Store , Shopify Store .

Websites: Brands that can be found in the search engines like Google Images . People might also land on your website via keyword searches for products or categories. Examples: This is the most common option for small and medium-sized retailers. You'll need a website to set up a Google Merchant Centre for your business.

Social: Brands get listed in Google and the sites of other websites that have been approved by Google as having integrity. To be approved, your brand's listing needs to comply with industry standards like Fair Use Policies and should have your logo approved.

Examples: Instagram and Facebook are all possibilities from social media sites that show up in search engines. If you're able to get your product listings on these sites, you can also list them in the merchant centre.

Label: A Label listing gives you full control over how your products are listed on the Google Merchant Centre. You can choose which images and product details to display as well as how to display your contact information, shipping information and phone number. Examples: The Label option is best for brands that sell across multiple categories.

Looking for a local that can help your business get online? We know someone - us! Connect with Ipswich Websites to design agile and great looking websites that scale with your business!

New features for Google Business Listings

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Fri, 18 Jun 2021 20:11:55 GMT

The latest feature update aims to streamline options to help businesses manage their profiles.

The latest feature update aims to streamline options to help businesses manage their profiles. There are improvements to service listings, booking options and product scanning for those who love using Google’s Shopping tools.

Local services:

If you’re a small business providing services within the local area, you now have the option to edit your profile to update services offered and the local areas you service. For example, if you are running a beauty business, you can break it down into specialist areas such as eyelash extensions or if you are an electrician, you may focus on specific services within the industry like solar maintenance.

Restaurants can enable online booking directly from search, via Google’s reserve partners service. Food ordering online is a growth area and one that is probably here to stay with the omnipresent threat of snap lockdowns and people’s habits changing.

So in summary the changes Ipswich small businesses can now implement in an easier way include,

Easier way to display your individual services
Hospitality: Accept takeaway and delivery orders via partner platform

You can learn more about upcoming services straight from the Google Blog

Further reading via Ipswich Websites: Why you shouldn’t ignore your Google Business Listing.

Having a scalable and flexible website is no longer out of reach for small business. We tailor solutions built around your business goals. Ipswich websites proudly collaborates with small and medium business across the City of Ipswich building new revenue online!

Your business needs a CRM from day one

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Mon, 14 Jun 2021 01:45:42 GMT

Many people starting their own business underestimate the need for a CRM

They wrongly assume they can handle things on Excel instead, or that it is something you only need if you have an established business. The truth is, even if your company consists of just two people, it's worth using a CRM from day one.

Many small business owners believe that CRMs are too expensive and too complicated to set up on the fly. They either decide to skip it altogether or wait until their business grows big enough before considering its merits (and real dollar value). The problem with this approach is when your company reaches five employees or more, the benefits a CRM can provide outweigh the cost and get even greater at scale.

Here are three reasons why you need a CRM no matter where you are in your business lifecycle:

1. You won't be able to manage everything by hand anymore

Small businesses are typically run by one or two people. As your business grows, you'll be able to hire more employees. As soon as their number increases, the problem of managing all the tasks and information stored in your CRM will become truly unmanageable. At first, it will seem like a time-consuming chore which will prevent you from taking care of other things. But later on, it will start to feel like an unnecessary drain on your precious time and energy.

Don't put off the need for a CRM. It will make your life easier in the long run.

2. You won't have enough time to browse all the data you've collected

Even if you're a super organised person, or can easily handle all your tasks by hand, sooner or later you'll start forgetting about a few things. And those are such important things, like unusual customer feedback, industry trends and even personal developments that might affect your growing business in one way or another! Not having real-time access to relevant information meant you won't be able to react to these issues fast enough.

3. Grows with your business (and employee count)

If things are going well, chances are that you'll have new employees as you grow. And this is where the real pain starts: it becomes much harder to manage all these people when you're not entirely sure about their tasks and responsibilities. A CRM can be helpful as a tool to solve this very problem.

Use a CRM from day one, no matter how many people work in your company! It will help you grow by making sure your team always has the right information, on time, at their fingertips whenever they need it.

How a chatbot can help your small business

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Sat, 05 Jun 2021 00:50:58 GMT

No business is 'too small' for a chatbot

Chatbots are a great way to get people to stay on your website and are a great way to encourage engagement and 'outlive' the average person’s attention span, which means they can keep talking for as long as the customer wants to chat.

One great way a chat bot can help a small business is by acting as a digital concierge pointing visitors to your most important information, products and services.

Think of this as a shortcut through a process that might otherwise require multiple steps, like checking availability and getting quotes for insurance coverage or shopping products.

They are more interactive than a contact form while quietly performing a similar function of collecting details and facilitating further follow-up and communication with your customers.

No business is 'too small' for a chat bot. A great example of one Ipswich Websites has implemented is with an electrical contracting business . It acts as a 24/7 engagement tool which has helped collect new leads and converting them to customers. Another advantage is syncing chats up to your phone so you can facilitate communication anywhere!

Not all chat bots are the same. They can vary in purpose, features and performance. Even chat bot's that claim to have a 'human-like' feel can be inconsistent – sometimes a little robotic, and other times they mimic a human voice. So how do you know which one is best for you?

You should choose a good one based on what your business needs are and exactly how they will help your business, which is the most important aspect however don’t get too hung up on the technology behind it because one size doesn’t fit all.

Would you like to know more? Let's chat!

Don't ignore your Google Business Listing

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Wed, 02 Jun 2021 18:37:50 GMT

A Google business listing is a great first step to getting your small business out there at zero cost.

In this insights post, I'll cover some tips to help you get started with your Google Business Listing so that you can bring in leads and customers.

I'm still surprised many small businesses neglect their listing and lose their opportunity for it to generate new business. This is typically due to a great existing network of referrals or repeat business however it pays to make sure as many people know about your business as possible in the long run.

The basics

To keep all of your marketing efforts consistent, it's ideal set up your website and Google My Business when you purchase the domain name or logo/branding for your business. Typically, your website designer can assist you so that all of the details in the listing match your business and point to your website (or at least email if you don't yet have a site).

Once you've set up the basics and have an address, phone number and business hours along with a business name, description and photos, it's time to tell the world via already established channels (like social media). A great idea is to reach out to previous clients and ask if they would like to leave a review to establish online trust around your business. Reviews as we all know, are a very powerful tool online for small business.

Your Google Business Listing also gives you the ability to list products and services which will show up front and centre when someone sees your profile. This could be anything from your new menu or services to the latest offers and promotions you are running. It's worth taking advantage of these features as they can help bring in more customers and increase brand recall (as long as they're relevant). Upload some great imagery to make your listing really stand out!

Don't forget that Google My Business also has a section for business hours which can save you constantly keeping on top of the times your store is open, any holidays or special events.

Have questions about your google listing? Reach and we we can assist with optimising your listing today to help your Ipswich business stand out!

Ipswich websites is a local web design and digital marketing business with a specific focus on supporting small and medium business in Ipswich and beyond. If your existing website doesn't seem to be working for you anymore, maybe it's time to undertake an SEO optimisation audit.

Link building and Off-page SEO

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Sun, 30 May 2021 15:02:16 GMT

A quick overview: Off-page SEO and how it helps your business website

Off-page SEO is a marketing technique that happens outside of the website. It can entail search engine optimisation (SEO) strategies like link building and engaging in social media conversation.

The goal of off-page SEO is to increase the relevance of a website or brand on search engines. This can lead to organic growth, which is when a website generates its own traffic from organic means such as search engine traffic.

Building backlinks is the cornerstone of off-page SEO. Backlinks refer to links back to a site or domain, and are important for ranking on search engines. There are many ways to get backlinks ranging from social media promotion to company websites that you can link back to. These websites will then add a link to their website, which can be seen in the search results.

There are three main types of links, defined by how they were earned: natural links, manually built links, or self-created links.

A natural link is a link that is earned from a relevant website. For instance, if a website creator includes your name in the article text, then that would be considered natural. A natural backlink can come from many different places including Wikipedia articles, press releases or industry studies.

A manual link refers to the process of getting an individual webmaster to add a hyperlink on their site to one of yours. The most common manual links are through guest blogging or content writing. It’s important that the website you are trying to get links from has high authority and relevant content.

A self-created link is when you build your own blog or webpage and include links back to your main site on them.

Link building for off-page SEO is not only used for ranking, it is also used to improve the content of a website. Link building strategies such as guest blogging offer an opportunity for companies that want to increase their visibility in the digital space, and is therefore important in off-page SEO strategy.

Guest blogging is a great way for website owners, bloggers and web designers to get seen on a platform that’s highly popular with both consumers and search engines.

Some positive aspects of guest blogging that could help your Ipswich business website include,

Guest posts can help you reach new audiences and reach people in new ways. They can create more SEO value for your website which leads to more leads and sales.

Guest posting typically generates traffic from the most relevant websites in your industry or niche. These are high-value websites that make it easy for your message to spread quickly.

Looking to boost your SEO outcomes in Ipswich and beyond? Ipswich Websites can assist you with an SEO optimisation strategy beginning with an audit in terms you can understand. Connect with Ben Hayward today.

Small business: Why you need a great website

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Sat, 22 May 2021 08:59:59 GMT

Almost every small business needs to have a great website.

But what exactly is a "great" site and how do you know if your site is one of those?

If you want to sell your products online, there's no way around it - you need an e-commerce website (both for online shopping as well as for selling wholesale). If you're a sole trader, then a website is a key tool in maintaining - and growing - your business.

What exactly do you need? This depends on your type of industry or profession .

If your business is working in, say, the travel industry (hotels, restaurants and attractions), the main requirements are easy to understand. You need a website that:

a) Is user-friendly (so anyone can look at the site without becoming confused) and

b) Takes care of customer satisfaction (so that clients come back for repeat business).

If you business is an online service, you need similar features, plus ones that allow easy communication with your customers, such as a service request form, chatbots or live messaging.

Finally (this one is important) remember is that you need a website which is focused on your customers - not you. It should be a representation of your business, your point of different within the marketplace and importantly optimised for a large number of devices out there.

A change is coming....

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Thu, 20 May 2021 08:40:10 GMT

Google Core Web Vitals is here

Google's core web vitals is an algorithm developed by google that is designed to measure the quality of a website and also provides insights into how a website may need improvement. Webmasters should take a close look NOW to improve their site to either meet or exceed these standards which will likely affect their ranking in the search engine results page, and ultimately lead to higher traffic volume to their sites - which at the end of the day is the goal of your site after all.

In this article, we'll look at what google core web vitals measures, how it's different from SEO rankings, and what you can do about it as a webmaster.

Google web vitals measures the quality of a website in the following areas:

HTML improvement. Google's algorithm penalises websites that have code errors, script issues, and other issues based on the type of technology used. These problems will reflect in your site's loading speed and page rank. If you have noticeable load time problems or any other html issues then it is important that you rectify them as soon as possible to ensure that your site presents well on google web scores. Obtaining a site health report is one way to see what needs to be fixed as a priority

Largest contentful paint. The total size of the images on your website is a big factor when it comes to calculating the total purity for your site. If you have large images in an area or section of your site that's not directly related to the actual page content, Google will register this as a web page, which will cause the score to be lower. This is another reason why you should ensure that images are relevant to the page they appear on as it reflects positively on the overall quality of your site.

First Input Delay . This is the time (in milliseconds) it takes for a user to click something on the page. This metric is important because Google now thinks of the user's experience when it comes to ranking. If the First Input Delay is too high, your website will likely get de-ranked and put lower down in search engine results.

Cumulative Layout Shift Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) is an important, user-centric metric for measuring visual stability because it helps quantify how often users experience unexpected layout shifts—a low CLS helps ensure that the page is easy to use with no nasty movement surprises.

Validity of HTML. This is how well your site's code follows search engine standards for valid markup and use of CSS. Google states that sites with good markup will rank higher than those with poor markup as the code is easier to read, which makes it easier for the search engine to access your information and rank you correctly.

Are you ready for the changes? Speak to your web designer/master about Google Core Web Vitals and how it may impact your business website.

Why keeping your website updated is critical

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Wed, 19 May 2021 08:56:06 GMT

Looks like your website is a little outdated and needs an update. Not something you want to hear, particularly if you rely on it for business.

In this post, we'll go over how updating your website can help get more traffic, increase conversions, and make your content easier to find. The first thing to do is come up with a new design that looks fresh and engaging and will also work well on mobile devices where a large majority of your traffic will likely come from.

Many small business owners may think that it's too expensive to hire a professional web designer, but there are inexpensive alternatives like WIX or GoDaddy's website builder. These are pretty easy to use (just drag and drop) and can still give you a fresh new look that will help your website stand out from the rest. However, these platforms can only get you so far and if your website is a business tool, you'll want to make sure you are working with a professional.

You'll also need to think about performance and SEO (search engine optimisation). Using the right keywords in your title tags, meta description tag, and content will make sure your site is being seen by people searching for those appropriate terms. For the DIY site builders out there, these are elements that can be overlooked and ultimately cause frustration when your business website is not generating sales or queries.

You also need to consider keeping your website updated, particularly if you are using a platform like Wordpress with many modules and plugins. Wordpress is one of the most popular platforms on the market today, so it's important to keep it up to date because if you do not, your website will be slow and unresponsive.

Finally, you'll need to be sure you are working with a company that has experience with marketing and search engine optimisation. Most small business owners have tried their hand at SEO in the past, but unfortunately not many have used it for promotional purposes or have the time to manage themselves. The good news is that your Ipswich Websites site is made for SEO from the get go!

Feel free to connect with us anytime if you would like to build a great new website for your Ipswich business.

Why engage with a web designer?

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Tue, 18 May 2021 01:25:31 GMT

Ipswich Websites offers the perfect balance of creative design with business focussed functionality and hosting.

While there are plenty of DIY platforms out there (which by the way are great BTW!) there can be some compelling reasons why your business shouldn't go it alone when it comes to your website.

First impressions:

It's an age old adage - first impressions count! You've worked hard to build your business and you want to project your expertise and service offering to the market in the best way. Your website could be the first touch point a customer has with your business, and if it's not functional or your don't have the time to keep it up-to-date, that customer may go elsewhere.

You'll have back up:

While you may have the time and skill to produce a site with a popular web building platform, if things 'break' or your find yourself not having the time to manage your site like you used to, it can be a life saver (and stress saver) knowing you can reach out to a dedicated resource who knows your site and what you want to achieve.

Running an e-commerce site, managing SEO, Google Business listings and ensuring ongoing optimisation and content updates is time consuming. It's not just luck that helps you rank well in google search or compels a customer to use your website - it's plenty of hard work. Then there is your mailing list integration and other business tools you want to make sure are all working together to drive traffic - and revenue - to your business.

Build trust with your audience:

This tip follows on from the 'first impression' point above. If your bricks and mortar shop front was shabby, or your signage hard to read it sends a message of a lack of respect to your market audience or even worse, business is bad so why would they use you? Your website is no different. Having an out of date website or poorly functioning one certainly does not build trust and will turn away customers to your competitors who are taking it seriously.

Why a content management system (CMS) is important for your growing business!

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Sun, 09 May 2021 18:32:11 GMT

Who doesn’t love to learn about another acronym?

When it comes to digital you have probably heard about SEO, CRM and even SERP. But what is CMS?

A content management system is central to a great website. According to the team at Hubspot , more than half the sites on the web have one. When you build your website with Ipswich Websites, you will have one automatically included with your package.

What is it?

Essentially a CMS allows people to build and manage their business website without building it from scratch via coding (or really having to know any coding at all). This is a feature many clients from Ipswich Websites love, as they can manage their own media and add to it to their site allowing their online presence to remain dynamic and up-to-date.

Your CMS function allows you to create, manage, update and publish your own content to a website in a very user friendly way. At Ipswich Websites, we provide training on this particular element for those businesses that are looking to be a little more hands on with their website.

Simple updates:

As we touched on above, the real power of the CMS embedded into your website is that it allows you to make changes faster - like general updates, new imagery (think new staff member profiles for example). If you have had a style guide created and have some key business branding assets, such as high quality imagery, logos or other elements (like video), you can store them within your CMS.

Some things to consider if you are hands on with your business website

So you’ve been handed the keys to your site and have access to your CMS. It can be tempting to upload away and get to work but there are some considerations before you go wild.

Firstly, have a chat to your website designer/developer to see if there are any impacts to SEO about your planned updates. Google doesn’t rate large images slowing down your website! You might say hey, my site still loads fast but we are talking milliseconds here which google measures response times in. So while your website with that great new imagery is loading fast in your eyes, behind the scenes it could be hurting your SEO in ways you wouldn’t realise.

So, you don’t want to cause a negative ranking impact or create a poor user experience by loading large files that are not optimised for the web. I’ve touched previously on compressing images into the Webp format for example. The same goes for video, these files should be compressed as far as practically achievable or hosted on a trusted 3rd party platform.

When you work with Ipswich Websites, you are working with a business on a super fast platform backed by AW S that brings you the power of a great CMS. We're an Ipswich web designer with a special focus on helping Queensland small business keep costs down while still having a powerful web presence! Start small, scale up and keep control of your costs.

If you are thinking about taking the leap online, then Ipswich Websites could be the partner in all things digital that you have been looking for.

RAAF Roulettes over Ipswich Queensland

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Sun, 02 May 2021 01:23:37 GMT

The Royal Australian Air Force's aerobatic display team fly over Ipswich as part of the Planes, Trains and Auto's event at the Workshops rail museum.

Why a style guide is key to a great website

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 09:48:21 GMT

The first step to building your new business website is to go offline - and create a style guide!

Most small business owners don't often think about their own personal brand. They just focus on the product they are trying to sell and in the worst case, hope for the best. You can't blame them, when running a small business people often wear many hats and may not have the time to focus on branding or marketing until they really need to!

In reality, if you're not thinking about how your business perceived by its customers, you're doing yourself a disservice. Your website should be a 24hr beacon of your brand; highlighting what your values are as a business in addition to being an extension of your products or services.

How does a style guide help?

In a nutshell, the style guide ensures that there is always an underlying consistency in how people experience your brand. It helps to build and keep customers loyal by maintaining this level of quality through every touchpoint they have with your business - and this is a very important consideration for your website as well.

When you engage a web pro and already have a style guide in hand, you are going to save a significant amount of time (and potentially money) during the development process. Existing fonts, colour palettes, logos and more will allow your web designer to create a web presence that truly represents your business, brand and style. It will potentially save unnecessary revisions as well. Bonus!

What should be included in a style guide?

This all depends on who you ask. Publishers include specific grammar rules, writing tips for voice and guidelines. Graphic designers would use fonts, colours and sizes in their work with branding as well as appropriate usage of the logo or tagline to make sure it's cohesive across platforms from social media marketing to digital and print.

For a website you would look to include guidelines that cover digital elements (even down to navigation buttons) to ensure your website is a living and breathing representation of your brand. If you're a small business having a great logo and a basic colour palette is a great start - and if you have an approved font, even better!!

There are some great examples online to inspire you OR if you are looking for a great Ipswich designer please don't hesitate to reach out, we work with some wonderful local designers that will make sure that your business is looking it's best!

How to build your personal brand online

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Sat, 24 Apr 2021 11:13:49 GMT

A personal branding website to showcase your professional skills outside of social media can be a great way to get that new job!

Businesses are looking for candidates that can fit into their culture, but how do they know if you’re a good fit?

Most people use social media for their personal branding efforts, and while that works well for some industries, it can be limiting if you're trying to build a career in major industries. Recruiters might find you on LinkedIn and they will also often conduct online searches as well. You want them to find the right information - your online source of truth.

Ipswich Websites is the perfect solution. We'll build your personal branding website so you can showcase all of your skills without relying on social media profiles.

Your site will also include an SEO strategy so you get found when potential employers google your name! You'll also have the tools to keep your profile updates and share content from your own domain - looking professional while you do it!

You can start with a dynamic one page site and build it from there! Connect with us today to obtain a quote. Want to see a great example? View here.

Ipswich ANZAC Day services 2021

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Sat, 24 Apr 2021 10:53:16 GMT

IPSWICH ANZAC DAY SERVICES AND MARCHES
Sunday 25 April 2021

BOOVAL
8.00 am at Honour Stone, Cameron Park, Green Street, preceded by March at 7.45 am from cnr Green Street and Glebe Road.

BRASSALL
4.27 am – Ipswich Adventist School, 56 Hunter Street.

BUNDAMBA
4.27 am – Honour Stone, Bundamba, Memorial Park, Brisbane Road preceded by a march at 4.15 am from cnr Brisbane Road and Coal Street.
9.15 am – Honour Stone, Bundamba Memorial Park, Brisbane Road preceded by a march at 9.00 am from cnr Brisbane Road and Coal Street.

EBBW VALE
4.26 am – Honour Stone, corner Brisbane Road and Jordan Street.
8.30 am – Honour Stone, corner Brisbane Road and Jordan Street.

GOODNA
4.15 am – Honour Stone, corner Queen and Church streets.
8.40 am – Honour Stone, corner Queen and Church streets preceded by a march at 8.30 am from cnr Queen and Alice street.

GRANDCHESTER
6.00 am – Bigges Camp Park, Gordon Road.

IPSWICH - LIMESTONE HILL
6.30 am – Naval Cairn, 14 Queen Victoria Parade.

IPSWICH - MAIN MARCH
10.45 am – From cnr Brisbane and Waghorn streets.

IPSWICH - RSL MEMORIAL GARDENS
4.27 am – Honour Stone, corner Limestone and Nicholas streets.
8.30 am – Honour Stone, corner Limestone and Nicholas streets preceded by a march at 8.20 am from South Street.

MARBURG
7.30 am – Marburg Community centre, corner Queen and Edmonds streets, preceded by a march from Church of Christ at 7.20 am.

NORTH IPSWICH
6.45am – Honour Stone, Ipswich Railway Workshops with march and service at 7.00 am inside the Ipswich Railway Workshops.

ONE MILE
9.30 am – West Ipswich One Mile War Memorial, Old Toowoomba Road.

PINE MOUNTAIN
9.00 am – Honour Stone, corner Russells and Pine Mountain roads.

ROSEWOOD
5.40 am – Rosewood Memorial Hall, ANZAC Park, Mill Street.

SOUTH RIPLEY
5.00 am - Ripley Valley State Secondary College, 48 Parkway Avenue.

SPRINGFIELD CENTRAL
5.30 am – ADF Memorial, The Circle, Robelle Domain Springfield Central, Southern Cross Circuit.

WOODEND
6.30 am – St Mary’s College field next to Woodend Honour Stone, Roseberry Parade.

Last updated: 7.30am on 21 April 2021

5 reasons why your website is NOT generating business

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Sat, 24 Apr 2021 06:43:50 GMT

There can be some simple reasons why your website is not generating business.

1. Your website is not optimised for the search engines

2. You are not using social media to promote your business

3. You have a weak call-to-action that does not inspire action

4. Your website does not provide visitors with what they need or want

5. Visitors cannot find what they're looking for on your site

Ok, do you think any of the above apply to your website? Just like your other business tools or vehicles require maintenance, so does your website. It's important to keep your online presence updated frequently.

It's not enough to have a website that looks nice. Your website needs to be functional and easy for your visitors to navigate. It needs to be SEO friendly and also to be ready for Google Core Web Vitals .

A professional web designer will make sure your site meets the criteria of search engines, is responsive across devices, and has a modern design that appeals to your desired audience.

If you're an Ipswich or Brisbane business looking for some help with your site or just need someone who can give an honest opinion on what it should look like, contact Ben Hayward today!

Your most important tool in 2021

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Sat, 24 Apr 2021 06:04:36 GMT

Your business website is the most important tool for your company. It’s how you generate revenue and communicate with customers, so it needs to be perfect.

Ipswich Websites is a web design and development business that can help you create a site that will make your business shine online. Ben Hayward (our certified designer) knows what it takes to build a successful site and he has the tools to get the job done right. Let him show you how easy it is to create an amazing website for your business today!

You're tired of paying high monthly fees or having limited features when all you really want is something simple yet effective? Well, there's no need to worry because we offer affordable plans with no hidden costs or surprises at checkout. Get started today by clicking the build your quote button in the bottom right of your screen.

Things to do in Ipswich

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Mon, 12 Apr 2021 17:29:24 GMT

Low cost or free activities that will get you out of the house.

1. The Ipswich Art Gallery: There’s always something new happening at this very popular regional gallery. School holidays are always popular, and there are some great activities that focus on the younger ones. With over 100,000 people visiting each year, you know it’s worth the trip.

What does it cost? It’s free entry unless a specific or activity has its own entry fee which you can typically purchase tickets online.

Learn more: https://www.ipswichartgallery.qld.gov.au/visit/about-the-gallery/

2. The Workshops rail museum: The former railway workshops located in North Ipswich and had a pretty good run, staying open from the late 1800’s through to the 1980s. This is a great low-cost day half-day out for the younger ones or those who just love trains and engineering. It’s also going to be the home of the upcoming Planes, Trains & Autos celebrating all things aviation, rail and auto.

Learn more https://www.discoveripswich.com.au/event/planes-trains-autos/

3. White Rock Conservation Area

This is a great nature-based recreation space with bushwalking trails, horse riding trails and of course, White Rock itself.

The walking trails vary from 200m to 6.5 km (round trip). There are cultural protocols that prohibit people from climbing White Rock.

Learn more https://www.ipswich.qld.gov.au/explore/parks_reserves_precincts/parks_search/white-rock-conservation-park-paperbark-flats-picnic-area

4. Orion Lagoon & Robelle Domain

Smack bang in the middle of Springfield Central and right across from the Orion shopping centre you will find this free lagoon of interconnected pools. Starting at 0.3 metres and going up to 1.5 meters in depth, it’s the perfect place to cool off during the hotter months. Nearby you also find Robelle Domain, with areas to ride your bike and a zero-depth water play area.

Learn more https://www.greaterspringfield.com.au/lifestyle/robelle-domain/

I can't find my website on Google!

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Tue, 06 Apr 2021 17:31:23 GMT

This is one topic that can get pretty deep quickly however there are some general things you can do to improve your chances of being found in search.

When you're a small business owner managing everything, including your website, you may not have the time to figure out why your website is not being found in search. Below are some quick and simple tips for you to consider either managing yourself, or with the help of a website designer.

This is for the DIY people out there who might be building their own site. If you’re using popular platforms like Wix or Squarespace, make sure you’ve activated or upgraded your plan from a trial site. Make sure your page is published, trial sites just don’t fly when it comes to search. I've had to rescue one or two sites from DIY attempts in the past, so make sure you do your research first as it can sometimes be cheaper (and less stressful) to engage a local website designer in the first place.

Verify your site with the Google Search Console or Bing Webmaster Tools. Reach out if you would like to know more.

Get your links out there. If you can write content that appears on other sites, it helps build authority and adds a link back to your website so people can find you. If you list in a directory of any type, make sure your website is listed!

Meta tags: Choose some concise and clear wording to describe the content of each of your pages. They dramatically increase the chances that a user will click on your link. Don’t forget to add keywords that are relevant to your business or the purpose of your site.

How blog or insights content can help you rank higher in search!

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Sun, 04 Apr 2021 02:22:50 GMT

Adding new content to your site is important for many reasons, particularly when it comes being found in search.

Here are some ‘on-page’ tips to help your content stand out and hopefully be found by your websites target customer base.

Focus on keywords that you know your customers are searching for.

Firstly, this doesn’t mean writing content that makes no sense and just peppering it with endless keyword combinations – this will actually hurt your ranking chances. It will also not help in encouraging people to read your actual content.

A good starting point is to focus on one or two long-tail keyword combinations per post. Keep it narrow and natural to the topic of the post.

Where to include your chosen keywords within your content/post.

There are four key areas where you should try and place your keywords,

Title tag

o This is the headline of your post and will be the first thing both the reader and search engine will use to determine the relevancy of your posted content.

Headers and body

o Mention keywords naturally throughout the body of your content. Remember our tip above – keep it relevant!

URL

o Search engines will also check out your URL to figure out the content of the post and it’s one of the first things it will ‘crawl’ when reading a page.

Meta description

o A meta description gives search engines and readers information about your blog posts content – meaning you must use a ‘long-tail’ terms so your audience are clear about what your post in on about.

Mobile friendly

This is critical and is achieved by having a responsive website design. A significant amount of your traffic will come from mobile devices and people browse from the lounge room to the office lunch area away from desktop devices.

Evergreen blog content

What is evergreen content? Simply it’s content that lasts longer than a very specific, one time piece of content. It’s more likely to stay relevant for longer, attract more views and help you rank up over time, not just the near future. Another bonus is it helps generate a steady stream of traffic.

Ipswich Websites proudly provides web design and hosting services both within and external to the City of Ipswich.

5 key things to consider about your domain name

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Sat, 03 Apr 2021 01:23:03 GMT

5 key things to consider about your domain name before building a new website

Keep it as simple as possible and importantly, easy to spell. There is more chance it will be remembered. Make sure to use a domain name extension that is relevant, so if you are setting up a not-for-profit in Ipswich for example, consider a org.au extension instead of . com.au. E xtra tip: Avoid using numbers or hyphens as these might be harder for some people to remember.

Make it memorable: Think of a name that is relevant to your industry or service, but catchy enough that it will be remembered.

Avoid names that don’t mean anything: Choose a name that expresses meaning so potential customers know what your business is all about! Larger companies can use nearly any name they like as they often have the large budgets to brand appropriately. This is often different for small business.

Once you have a name, research further. You want to make sure there are no similar websites with the same or very similar names. Also consider new rules in Australia around domain names. Visit auda.org.au to learn more.

Is it scalable? While you may be starting locally, do you have plans to expand? Naming your business after your city or suburb is great in the beginning if that is your core focus, but if you have growth plans, you’ll want to drop any super local references in the name if you are going setup in other geographic locations.

Does my tradie business need a website?

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 22:54:33 GMT

To put it simply, yes. It’s 2021.

Does my tradie business need a website?

To put it simply, yes. It’s 2021 after all but there’s some very good business reasons why you should have your own website outside of social media pages and other directories (directories are awesome – just make sure you have a website to reference within them). With the omnipresent threat of COVID-19 lockdowns within Queensland, being available online is more important than ever.

Growing customer base

We’ll use Ipswich, Queensland as an example here. Across the city there are thousands of tradies undertaking a wide range of contracting work – which means customers have a choice. With more than 300 people moving into the region each week, there are plenty of new potential residents who may have not heard of you via referrals or other traditional networks. Be found in search, with a website, a local Ipswich SEO strategy and other online tools.

Making that great first impression

Your website is your source of truth and creates a professional impression on not only new customers, but existing ones. It’s a place to highlight your services, testimonials and other completed projects in a professional manner. Show your Ipswich customers you know what you are talking about and can deliver!

Extra tip: Photos, photos and more photos. Set up a gallery of completed work to show customers. Images should be taken where possible with a DSLR or mirrorless camera; newer smartphones will produce a quality image you can use as well. Take some time to make it look more than a poorly framed photo you just slapped up on the site in a hurry!

Extra tip 2: Make sure you web designer optimises your image galleries for mobile.

Working for you 24/7

With your business presence online 24 hours a day, you are more likely to interact with new customers at a time that suits them. Encourage further interaction with a clear call action or even a custom chatbot that can assist customers while you sleep. A client of ours, DRC Electrical uses a chatbot with a very high conversion rate to help them engage with online visitors.

Your vehicle and your website

Many people will google your business after seeing vehicle parked or driving around Ipswich to find out if you are the right tradie for them. They might not memorise your phone number, however they are likely to remember the business name to google (likely from a mobile device).

While we are on the topic, choose a domain name that is easy to remember while being as close to your type of business as possible. Johnslandscapingandrubbishremoval.com.au isn’t the easiest URL to type in and your email address will be even worse. Keep it short and succinct where possible.

Looking to take your Ipswich business online? Connect with a local web designer who takes the time to build a site around your business. Ipswich Websites is a local web designer who works with business within Ipswich and even across Australia.

What is the WebP file format and why you should be using it ASAP

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 19:40:12 GMT

Improve website load times today with the webp file format

What is WebP?

It's the relatively new kid on the block when it comes to image files that live on your website. It provides superior compression for images used on your website. By decreasing imagery loading time, your website is faster and has a better chance of providing a great user experience and even a possible SEO boost!

Show me the numbers!

On average, WebP lossless images are 26% smaller in size to the typical PNG file format and up to 25-34% smaller than comparable JPEG images (source SSIM Index) .

Who supports WebP?

WebP is supported in Google Chrome, Firefox, Edge and the Opera browser (does anyone still use Opera?) and other industry standard tools.

Ipswich Websites calls Ipswich home and proudly works with business both within and external to Ipswich providing web design and holistic project management services.

What is local SEO? How it helps your business standout in Ipswich!

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Sun, 28 Mar 2021 19:18:45 GMT

How local search engine optimisation (SEO) can help your business in Ipswich

Any local business with a physical address OR primarily serves a set geographical area can benefit from taking a close look at local SEO.

So how does SEO work?

This is a topic you could spend endless hours researching and the landscape is always changing. In a nutshell, Google has a number of processes it uses to rank websites with an algorithm looking at various metrics. Each time you undertake a Google search, the search giant is not actually doing a 'live' search, but searching a stored copy of all sites that Google has discovered via web crawling. Once your site has been 'crawled', it's stored in Google's servers and an index is built. This helps your site be discovered via keyword or long tail searches. Google crawls a mind-boggling amount of data in seconds, so don't worry you won't be waiting forever for your site to be crawled - but you also need to be proactive to stand out!

What is local SEO?

There are plenty of ways you can start to rank up locally,

Google Business listing and maps: This is a should be one of your first actions once you have your business up and running. It's free! This is a great first step to being found locally and can link visitors to your website, products and services.

Build a local landing page for your services and combine it with content that benefits from keyword research.

Local search citations: In local SEO citations refers to mentions of your business name, address and phone number (also referred to as NAP) on a website that isn't your own. When you are just starting out online, you need citations to appear in local search results. Google's algorithm always tries to return the best local results for a local query. Sites are shown on their relevance or prominence and citations are a key factor in being found. Your citations help Google verify that you're actually located where your website says your located!

Would you like to know more? Reach out anytime.

Optimise your website: 6 key considerations

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Fri, 26 Mar 2021 21:37:19 GMT

What you need to consider to keep your site optimised for search engines

You want to keep your website in top shape to achieve the best results for your business.

Ipswich Websites is an Ipswich Web Design service supporting business drive new revenue and digital opportunities.

Growing Ipswich: Population milestone reached

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Sun, 14 Feb 2021 09:48:26 GMT

Health investment expands to service growing region

Health precinct grows: West Moreton Health has acquired the South Street Council building sites from Ipswich City Council for $20.65 million. The WG Hayden Humanities Centre, the Hayden Centre and the Ipswich Global Information Centre – which houses the Interim Children’s Library – are among the sites to be sold.

Full story https://www.qt.com.au/news/2065m-sale-cements-future-of-ipswich-health-precin/4191951/

Ipswich Hospital Expansion

New ward: Still on the health front, the Ipswich Hospital is expanding with a new ward – the first in 6 years. The $25 million project will create an additional 26 beds and an improved outpatient area. As well as the 26 additional beds, the new Ward 6D will include early pregnancy assessment services, staff facilities and workspaces and a patient care centre with a treatment room, patient lounge and transit lounge.

Learn more -> https://www.westmoreton.health.qld.gov.au/node/706

Retail expansion to service Yamanto catchment

Retail boost: Yamanto Central retail development, anchored by Coles and Kmart. This significant retail development will have a large fresh food market hall precinct, 950 carparks and 1,200m2 licenced alfresco dining precinct.

https://www.yamantocentral.com.au/

Population reaches new milestone

Moving in: Ipswich population breaks the 230,000 mark with the latest figures showing the population to be 231,711. The city continues to grow with 1,124 lots approved in the last quarter of 2020. The suburban growth hotspots are Rosewood, Spring Mountain, Ripley, South Ripley and Collingwood park.

View data: https://www.ipswichplanning.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/142268/PRS_Quarterly_Activity_Report_Card_Oct-Dec2020.pdf

JobKeeper Data: 4305 Postcode Ipswich

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Mon, 01 Feb 2021 18:48:56 GMT

JobKeeper trends for postcode 4305: Ipswich, Queensland, Australia

Data source: Treasury.gov.au (2020). New data for the following time period until now (Feb 2021) yet to be formally released.

Year in review: 2020

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Thu, 24 Dec 2020 19:36:59 GMT

2020 was a positive year for my business.

IF you had told me 18 months ago this is where I'd be I probably would have laughed and said "I wouldn't have the time". To be fair, I was working full time in local government, pondering a new direction ( these days I'm fortunate enough to be working with a very dynamic fir m ) however researching and implementing the right processes and tools has enabled me to manage many competing priorities and outside of direct consulting activities would be a key achievement this year.

Making time? Or managing existing time better

As any small consultancy or business will tell you, there never seems to be enough 'time'. Managing my available time and expectations is a continuous improvement process and a key personal priority for 2021.

On a business front, I continually research new digital tools and processes that may benefit clients to improve productivity, brand positioning and customer engagement. It's been a great experience working with many diverse industries in 2020 and designing custom solutions that enable them to meet their goals.

Year highlights

9 new (bespoke) SME websites designed and under management.

Custom digital design work

Grant applications

Economic Development research and collateral production

Pro-bono work with a local NFP

Industries worked with:

Trades

Professional services

Mining supply chain

Educational Tours

Employment

Retail

Residential and commercial development

The other side of COVID: How is Ipswich’s GRP holding up?

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Wed, 02 Dec 2020 20:46:20 GMT

The other side of COVID: How is Ipswich’s local economy and GRP holding up?

The latest data is in – September Quarter 2020 comparison to the same period last year. Source economy.id

With the news that Australia appears to have emerged from a short-lived recession, these numbers are sure to change in the next comparison period, and while the pandemic is certainly not 'over', mentally many Queenslanders in particular are looking past COVID and resuming normal life patterns.

I’ll spare the introductive narrative regarding COVID-19 and the impact to the wider economy, as no doubt you are certainly well aware of that story particularly if you are employed within industries outside of government.

The team over at . id have released some new data which gives us some indication of how our local economy is holding up compared to wider Queensland.

GRP Change: September Quarter 2020 comparison to the same period last year

Local Job Change

Employment Resident Change

Top 3 sectors impacted the most.

1. Accommodation and Food Services

2. Manufacturing

3. Transport, Postal and Warehousing

Ipswich Websites is an Ipswich Web Designer supporting business within the City of Ipswich.

Redefine your professional image

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Wed, 16 Sep 2020 07:47:27 GMT

There's never been a better time to get yourself out there

Personal branding: It's the perfect time to take a fresh look at yourself, what you want to do and to let people know about it.

Coronavirus and the economy

You've read the headlines, watched the news or scrolled through the endless posts - and there is no escaping it. It's tough out there for business, and when it's tough for business, it's tough for job seekers. However, I'd argue it's not all doom and gloom and tough times can present previously unthought of opportunity.

Have more time? Time to invest in yourself

To cut a long story short you have either been impacted yourself by the current economic circumstances or know someone in your wider circles who has. While some will struggle to adapt, those who are willing to embrace change and explore options will ultimately have a greater chance of navigating the times ahead.

If you find yourself with more time, either from working at home and no longer having the commute, your hours have shrunk or you're looking for new opportunities due to circumstances outside of your control then consider some of the following steps you can take to maximise options moving forward,

Summer Land Camels

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Sun, 30 Aug 2020 20:23:34 GMT

Friendly ships of the desert on Brisbane's doorstep

Front of house: Upon arriving at Summerland Camels you are greeted by one of hundreds of camels that are located on the farm.

The animal with unlimited uses

One of the first things you notice when arriving at Summer Land Camels is the size of the operation and property, which includes a farm cafe, store. camel rides and more. The beautifully renovated 1930's homestead turned cafe fuses camel products into your everyday favourites (coffee included). It's the go-to spot after you (and particularly your kids) have fed the friendly camels enough $2 feed bags and dodged a few long necks and camel tongues. Just be aware that these camels are very adept at gobbling up a whole bag before you know it - so bring a few $2 coins to avoid disappointment from the young ones.

The farm produces a myriad of products covering dairy to skin care. Cheese, milk, gelato and other products are all available to try and purchase onsite. You can take a look at their website to see the full product range before you make the drive out.

How did they get here in the first place?

Camels were introduced to Australia in the 19th century from the Middle East, India and Afghanistan to do the heavy transport lifting in the outback. With the invention of more mechanised means of transport, many were just released into the wild. With no natural predators they flourished in the Australian outback and today are a source of concern for people working on the land and trying to protect the fragile environments in which they roam. You might be surprised to know that in modern times, Australia does export camels back to the middle eastern market.

Visit the farm

5 positive things happening within Ipswich right now

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Fri, 24 Jul 2020 19:55:08 GMT

Positive things are still happening despite the broader economic challenges Australia now faces.

Even if you have been trying to avoid the news lately, you'd be hard pressed not to know that Australia is facing challenging economic times; however it's not all doom and gloom out there particularly within Ipswich located in the centre of the booming western corridor.

Below I'll highlight five positive things that are happening with the city right now and you'll notice a theme that many are government centric which highlights the important strategic role all levels of government can play to keep things moving .

Next time, I'll take a look a closer look at private industry investment and which sectors continue to perform well across the city.

Made in Ipswich: Woollen Mills to Advanced Manufacturing

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Sat, 27 Jun 2020 19:17:44 GMT

As the 3rd largest employer in the region, the manufacturing sector has always played an important role within the City of Ipswich and surrounds.

Image credit: Unknown author - Queensland Woollen Manufacturing Company, North Ipswich, ca 1920[1], Ipswich Library & Information Service, Ipswich City Council, 1920

Made in Ipswich

In 1875, The ‘Queensland Woollen Manufacturing Company’ was formed in Ipswich on the banks of the Bremer River. The mills would go onto being one of the largest employers within the city for many years to come – even playing a role during war time producing army clothing and blankets.

And while we’re on that theme, the city can also lay claim to producing Australia’s first unbleached bath towels – you can save that one for your next trivia night.

Moving forward to today in Redbank, just up the river where the Bremer merges into the Brisbane river, you’ll find the Ipswich manufacturing story continues to this day. The city is home to the Rheinmetall Military Vehicle Centre of Excellence delivering Australia’s next generation combat recon vehicles.

Industry overview

While defence contracts certainly attract the big investment dollars, there are a large number of smaller and medium sized enterprises within the city that also fall into this category. Generally, government statistics for this industry (and most others) are grouped into the SA4 statistical region which extends beyond ‘traditional’ Ipswich boundaries. The region enjoys excellent transport connectivity enabling smooth logistics and employee mobility.

Quick stats:

1. 3rd largest employer within the region.

2. In recent years, the sector generated export revenue of more than $4.4 Billion.

3. The manufacturing workforce is ageing with almost 57% over 40 years old - presenting opportunity and challenges in providing the next generation of skilled workers.

The Queensland Government’s Workforce Report and Action Plan for the Manufacturing Industry in Ipswich notes that 53% of the workforce do not hold post-school qualifications. This fact is certainly not lost on the levels of government. Locally, Ipswich City Council have dedicated strategies and non-government bodies such as the Ipswich Region Chamber of Commerce who are also advocating for more skills-based development in the region.

Source:National Institute of Economic and Industry Research (NIEIR)©2019. Compiled and presented in economy.id by.id the population experts. Data are based on a 2016-17 price base for all years. NIEIR-ID data are inflation adjusted each year to allow direct comparison, and annual data releases adjust previous years’ figures to a new base year.Learn morePlease refer to specific data notes for more information.

Manufacturing a new future – Where to from here?

The pandemic has certainly disrupted supply chains parallel to ongoing geo-political rumblings between Australia and it’s largest two-way trading partner, China. To address the challenges faced by the current status-quo, the federal government has formed the National COVID Coordination Commission (NCCC).

The manufacturing taskforce includes business representatives as well as union leaders from that sector. If you have time, it’s worth reading a recent story by the ABC . Another example of government assistance is the Manufacturing Modernisation Fund, supporting up to 200 projects with $215m of funding – and it’s desperately needed based on the findings of the Australian Chamber Westpac Survey of Industrial Trends June 2020.

The survey’s Actual Composite Index, which indicates business confidence, fell to 24 in the June quarter, the lowest measured since 1966. The index dropped sharply from 45 in March and 53 in December 2019.

So where does that leave Ipswich? (opinion)

Ipswich has certainly seen plenty of change over the years as the economy ebbs and flows with market demand and has proven resilient in pivoting and adjusting to change. With a local economy underwritten by large population growth and an excellent geographic location for logistics, defence and health, Ipswich should be in a sustainable position moving forward - as long as the skills gap is addressed to support future manufacturing. Other government incentives that encourage investment and innovation will also be critical in sustaining this important sector within Ipswich and further afield.

Where the rubber meets the road: Transport and logistics within Ipswich

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Sat, 30 May 2020 23:09:06 GMT

The connected heart of logistics in the South East

Redbank, located within the City of Ipswich and just over 30km from Brisbane, is a key logistical hub within South East Queensland. Image credit: Google Maps

You’d be surprised what products transit through the City of Ipswich on their journey through Queensland and further afield in Australia - think Officeworks, Samsung and even Apple.

It’s no surprise that many of Australia’s biggest players in logistics and transport call the city of Ipswich home. Located at the intersection of major motorways, highways, rail and relatively close proximity to airports such as Brisbane and Toowoomba - Ipswich strikes a perfect balance between accessibility and available industrial land.

E-commerce boom

The 2019 Australia Post report I nside Australian Online Shopping outlined how the Group (including Startrack Express) delivered more than 3.3 billion items to more than 12 million addresses across the country - with Ipswich a major distribution centre.

Ipswich is home to the largest distribution centre within the southern hemisphere. The $200 million high tech Australia Post Distribution centre within the Redbank Motorway Estate is simply massive - with a footprint of over 10 football fields and employing up to 500 people.

While Australia Post is the newer kid on the block, other major players also call the city home including TNT, Northline and DB Schenker all taking advantage of the A-double and B-double approved transport routes.

Keep on trucking

Across town there is another logistics business that has been family owned since 1954. With over 130 employees, JR Stephens & Co. is one of the largest haulage companies within the South East, transporting waste and other raw materials, supporting multiple industries.Taking advantage of the excellent connectivity the company continues to be known as one of the most diversified waste transporters in South East Queensland.

What’s next?

The Queensland Government anticipates that the industry across Queensland and within Ipswich will require over 1000 additional skilled workers by 2022. The figures below are from one possible scenario outlined in the Anticipating Future Skills: Jobs growth and alternative futures for Queensland to 2022.

And while it's not quite clear how the COVID - 19 impact will play out on these numbers, the folks over at eMarketer have released Q1 retail ecommerce performance benchmarks which show ecommerce sales growth of 62% (represents activity on the Salesforce Commerce Cloud network, broader industry metrics may vary). Ecommerce and the logistical infrastructure required to keep up with demand will see this industry continue to grow with Ipswich playing a key role within this network.

Sister City relationships – still relevant or old news?

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Wed, 13 May 2020 03:28:20 GMT

It's a small world.

While one of the earliest known sister city relationships has existed since 836 between Paderborn, Germany and Le Mans, France – the concept truly came to the forefront in modern times in the 1900’s particularly after the devastation of World War 2 in an effort to bring former adversaries together at a more grass roots level; a level of citizen diplomacy.

What defines a Sister City?

According to Sister Cities International, it’s defined as a broad based, long term partnership between two communities in two countries. They often lead to exchanges of information and ideas, economic development and cultural partnerships. You can gain an insight to the vast web of globally connected cities here .

What tangible benefits do they bring?

While Federal Governments are typically responsible for foreign policy, the unique aspect of sister city relationships is where they sit within the realms of government. In the majority of cases, they are managed at a city/region (local government level) in line with the original concept of citizen diplomacy and forming good will between global communities.

As such, they can often be maligned by a public that see the relationships only existing for the benefit of politicians and bureaucrats to abscond on some sort of government funded holiday – and no doubt, across the world, there have been instances of this. What they do bring, when managed right, are unique opportunities to their respective local communities despite the global geo-political rumblings that their senior governments may be engaged with at the time.

Looking closer to home, here in the City of Ipswich, we have long lasting reminders such as the very popular Nerima Gardens, ongoing education exchanges, library book exchanges and other areas of city to city promotion. Many countries, particularly in Asia, take these relationships seriously, often monitoring local news to send support during times of natural disasters or times of celebration.

When can it go wrong?

Local government, as a custodian of these relationships, can sometimes find itself in a difficult situation when at a federal level, things get a little frosty between two nations. A recent example is the City of Wagga Wagga in New South Wales when in April this year the council voted to sever its China sister city relationship – which it had been a signatory of for over three decades. This move drew instant condemnation from numerous corners, including state MPs with many highlighting that it’s a relationship between two communities – not governments. In this instance the council later rescinded the decision and issued an apology.

Other traps local representatives can fall into is commenting on or engaging in foreign policy/relations that should be left in the realm of the Federal Government. Additional risk can also be encountered by simply not taking the relationships seriously with little investment or token activities – leading to a sceptical public.

As the Wagga example above shows, one misstep can lead to much larger headaches and ruin decades of friendly relations.

Do they still matter?

In an increasingly polarised world, the spirit of citizen diplomacy is needed more than ever to keep grass root connections alive across the world. Sister City relationships can still continue to open doors for trade, education and cultural exchanges while potentially exposing future leaders to friendly communities around the world – leaving a lasting impact. Exchanges are providing a different perspective that may, as the post war sister city movement had intended, help promote peace into the future.

Like any relationship, y ou only get out what you put in!

The challenge in modern times for local government to show that these relationships ‘pay their way’, proactively invest in them and embrace the real opportunities. If this can’t be achieved, then tangible benefits will be few and far between and perhaps, they’d be better off not engaging in global relationships in the first place.

I for one hope they continue into the future for the right reasons.

Councillor booth breakdown - Ipswich Local Government Elections 2020 Division 4

Tue, 21 Apr 2020 19:59:40 GMT

Division 4 was one of the most closely contested divisions in the recent Ipswich Local Government elections.

Source: Booth breakdown via ECQ 'current' xml data. Overall percentages sourced from updated ECQ website. Excludes mobile/ assisted/phone voting and Brisbane based booths. ECQ may refine data at a later stage. Candidates may have access to updated numbers that ECQ has not yet updated. Every effort has been made to provide accurate information with publicly available data.

The new division 4 was certainly a closely contested division with multiple candidates winning individual booths.

Battle of the Booths Ipswich City Council Elections 2020 Division 4

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Tue, 21 Apr 2020 00:11:58 GMT

The winners in battle for the west and north/west were clear.

In the final Mayoral 'Battle of the Booths' it was a clear first and second, with a couple of candidates vying for third however Pat Walsh ultimately secured this position. It would have been interesting to see how Pat Walsh's overall city vote would have been if he ran as an independent and started campaigning sooner.

*Data sourced from ECQ current xml data.

Battle of the Booths Ipswich City Council Elections 2020 Division 3

Mon, 20 Apr 2020 05:33:49 GMT

A clear winner

While the battle for 2nd and 3rd across the division seesawed, a strong pre-poll secured David Martin second place behind clear winner, Teresa Harding.

*Excludes assisted and phone voting. Presented in order as per ECQ xml data (source).

Battle of the Booths - Ipswich Local Government Elections 2020 Division 2

Sun, 19 Apr 2020 00:22:25 GMT

It was a close run race for 2nd in Division 2

*Excludes assisted and phone voting. Presented in order as per ECQ xml data (source).

Battle of the Booths - Ipswich Local Government Election 2020 Division 1

Sat, 18 Apr 2020 02:15:47 GMT

Division 1 Mayoral booth breakdown

*Excludes assisted and phone voting. Presented in order as per ECQ xml data (source). Ipswich early pre-poll included within further divisional xml data.

WFH? Move your mobile to your desktop

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Wed, 08 Apr 2020 09:40:17 GMT

WFH? Phone out of reach? Use these apps to extend your mobile to the desktop.

This could be a productivity booster or killer - depending on your messaging habits.

Ipswich City Council Election predictions - How did I go?

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Mon, 06 Apr 2020 15:57:38 GMT

Ipswich Council Elections 2020

The results are in - how did I go with my predictions?

In a previous post, I outlined my desktop predictions about who would be successful in getting across-the-line in the recent 2020 Ipswich local government elections. At the time of writing the ECQ website still appears to be having issues but we can now safely say who will be taking a seat in the council chambers.

My prediction for Mayor was Teresa Harding (elected) however I thought the vote margin was going to be lower. Well done Teresa who was the clear winner.

Div 1 predictions:

Jacob Madsen: Elected

Pye Augustine: Currently 4th according to ECQ

Div 2 predictions:

Paul Tully: Elected

Luise Manning: Currently 4th according to ECQ

*also a chance of Paul Tully's running mate, Nicole Jonic, doing well due to a strong campaign. Elected

Div 3 predictions:

Marnie Doyle: Elected

Andrew Fechner (wildcard pick): Elected

Jim Dodrill should poll well around his immediate suburbs but might fail to reach a wider audience due to the larger divisions. 3rd according to ECQ.

Div 4 predictions:

Russell Milligan: Elected

Susan Dunne: 3rd according to ECQ.

You can listen in below and hear about the Mayors priorities and immediate concerns.

Ipswich City Council election predictions

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Sat, 28 Mar 2020 06:15:04 GMT

A prediction

It's been one of the most unorthodox local government elections in the city's history; transitioning from administration during a pandemic. It could also take some time to finalise the vote, if close, due to large numbers of postal votes and ECQ staffing restrictions.

It could also be one of the lowest voter turn-outs in recent times due to the controversy over running the election during a pandemic contrary to other government advice for similar activities.

Let's see how I go.

Mayor: Teresa Harding however not via a large margin.

Div 1:

Jacob Madsen

Pye Augustine

Div 2:

Paul Tully

Luise Manning

*also a chance of Paul Tully's running mate, Nicole Jonic, doing well due to a strong campaign.

Div 3:

Marnie Doyle

Andrew Fechner (wildcard pick)

Jim Dodrill should poll well around his immediate suburb but might fail to reach a wider audience due to the larger divisions.

Div 4:

Russell Milligan

Susan Dunne

Australian Defence Veterans' card: How it can serve you and your business

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Mon, 09 Mar 2020 06:07:44 GMT

Defence service recognition widens with Defence Veterans' Covenant

The new look cards, with the white card now available to veterans who have served in the Australian Defence Forces.

The Australian Defence Veterans’ Covenant was announced by the Prime Minister, the Hon Scott Morrison MP, and the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, the Hon Darren Chester MP, on 27 October 2018.

The Covenant encourages the Australian community to acknowledge the unique nature of military service, and support veterans and their families.

Underpinning the Covenant is the Veteran Card, the Lapel Pin and the Oath.

Have you applied?

Firstly, you would think every ADF veteran would know about this card however I know many, myself included, who were a little slow on the uptake or heard about it second hand. If you've served in the ADF then you will be eligible to apply for one if you haven't already and yes, this includes reservists who meet a range of criteria.

Depending how you fit within the criteria matrix, you'll receive a card, lapel pin and a printed oath (mine turned up via courier).

There are a number of benefits for card holders (outside of traditional DVA services).

I'm a business owner - how do I get involved?

As we touched on above there are many ways to connect with the defence veteran community within your area by either simply advertising that you offer a veteran’s discount, or if you're wishing to cast a wider net, through partners such as APOD or your local chamber of commerce.

DVA estimates there are over 641,000 veterans living in Australia (2018) who have served either full or part time within the ADF. It's certainly a community and consumer cohort that you want to connect with.

As always, if you have any question on how to connect your business within the defence community you can contact me here.

Ipswich: Five industry growth stories - Part one

Sun, 01 Mar 2020 07:16:11 GMT

Positive growth series: Health care and social assistance

As the older neighbour of Queensland’s capital city, Ipswich has a proud history of being an economic engine room for Queensland and centre stage in traditional manufacturing and heavy industries throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.

While times may change as industries come and go with market tides, Ipswich is still a city and region that continues to grow and share economic success stories – some you will know, some you may have missed.

Meet Ipswich's largest employer (by sector) - health care and social assistance

Australia’s population is ageing with approximately 3.8 million being aged 65 and over. There are numerous professions and industries that play a role supporting this cohort of Australian; hospital staff, medical, other healthcare, residential care and social assistance – the list goes on.

Currently within the city of Ipswich there are 10,985 directly people employed within health care and social assistance, with many secondary industries and professions also part of this sector (think financial planners, trades, hospitality, retail and more).

If you're on a mobile device, you can swipe within the table below.

Source: National Institute of Economic and Industry Research (NIEIR) ©2019. Compiled and presented in economy.id by.id the population experts. NIEIR-ID data are adjusted each year, using updated employment estimates. Each release may change previous years’ figures.

Watch for: Further development of residential care, allied health precincts and government health support within the city.

With 14.1% of the cities workforce employed within this sector and growing, it’s a great time if you’re a local business to see how your product or service could align with this sector.

If you would like to know more please feel free to contact me here.

The path to advanced manufacturing - Ipswich Region

Tue, 18 Feb 2020 09:29:10 GMT

Australian skills in focus today at North Ipswich Reserve

From industrial 3D printers to discussions surrounding driverless cars, skillsets, required both now and into the future are a hot topic in industry circles.

Ipswich is in a unique and enviable position within South East Queensland when it comes to manufacturing and logistical connectivity with over 14 major industrial and business centres attracting manufacturing, logistics, warehousing, retail and distribution.

What is reassuring to see is the high level of collaboration between industry, government and academia to address the skills challenge to keep Australia competitive into the future.

A big congratulations to the Economic Development team (Tamanna, Natalie & Allan) from Ipswich City Council and the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre (AMGC) for putting on this morning's event; providing access to leaders in advanced manufacturing and skills accreditation.

Ipswich Local Government Elections 2020 guide

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Mon, 17 Feb 2020 22:35:59 GMT

What? Who? When? - Ipswich Council elections

Ipswich Local Government election guide: What division am I in?

The Ipswich local government elections are not far away and there are a number of new changes that voters and residents of the city may not be aware of.

Firstly, there are no longer 10 seperate divisions across the city. After a boundary review, the previous divisions have been amalgamated into larger areas that will be represented by two elected councillors per division. Residents will still be able to vote for a Mayor separately.

How to search your address to confirm voting division?

The best way to confirm exactly what division you are in is via the Australian Electoral Commission website. There is a dedicated enrolment search function here.

Where can I find information about candidates for Mayor and my division? Who is running?

The Ipswich local government elections for 2020 have attracted a large number of candidates and trying to find one source of information on who is running, their policies, passions and professional skills can be difficult. Nearly every candidate has a social media page, typically Facebook, and this can be a great starting point in your research.

The Queensland Times publishes a consolidated list of candidates or alternatively you can find an excellent (and free) summary via Allan Roebuck and #lge2020 on Twitter.

I'm looking for a map of my division - where can I find one?

You can find a full suite of PDF files here.

In the age of social media, does your small business still need a website?

Mon, 17 Feb 2020 12:45:12 GMT

Having a website adds credibility to your business and compliments your social media channels.

Many small business owners may baulk at the idea of setting up a website when they have a successful presence on social media. There are a few reasons; the perception of costs, requiring some kind of technical or developer skillset or simply being too time poor.

The good news is that it is easier than ever to take control of your brand and business with your own website and business email. We'll go over some of the benefits below and hopefully by the time you finish reading this, you'll see the benefits of creating a website for your small business.

A website will help attract new customers: Having a website adds credibility to your business and compliments your social media channels. It's a 'source of truth' that you can anchor your social media channels with. Launching a new product? Launch it on your site and share directly to your channels driving traffic back to the home of your brand.

Nobody likes a price increase: How do you communicate one to your clients?

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Mon, 17 Feb 2020 09:59:13 GMT

It’s a part of life no matter what industry you are involved in

Each year there will inevitably be cost increases either caused by your supply chain, regulatory requirements or market changes to name just a few. The eye-rolling response is the same, we’ve all be there and the first thing we think about is, why?

Therefore, it shouldn’t be a surprise that how you communicate a price increase is very important and the good news is that it doesn't have to be a negative experience. It’s a great opportunity to re-connect with customers and clients and remind them why they are doing business with you in the first place.

Review, remind, execute:

Review your clients and customers: Is the increase uniform or will it only impact a segment of your client base? What is their preferred method of communication? Work to segment groups into categories, although not too many. Examples being,

Phone/email

Face-to-face meeting

Client information evening or a Q&A.

Naturally in addition to the examples above, you’ll need to follow up with formal correspondence to your complete client base and preferably at the same time.

Embrace the opportunity to re-connect and remind your customer base of why they are doing business with you and the services you offer – and will continue to do so. Will the price increase result in a more efficient service? Improved quality or other beneficial outcomes? Perfect. Let them know without sounding like a cliché salesperson.

It’s important to be upfront and try to avoid doublespeak or meandering reasons why the price increase is happening. While you’ll include the relevant details in a transparent and succinct manner be sure to always provide a call-to-action for clients so they can find out more information. As we discussed above, use your segmented groups to facilitate further tailored communication via their preferred means.

If you’d like to know more or are not sure how to communicate your message please do not hesitate to contact me today.

2020 small office superstar – meet the ‘NAS’

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Mon, 17 Feb 2020 09:30:55 GMT

Information Technology (I.T) in a small business or office can be a funny thing.

It can resemble a patchwork of technologies, software and different setups depending employee preferences or your time and budget to manage. This type of environment might keep things ticking over - until it doesn’t. Then what?

Take a moment to assess your environment. Do you have complete control over your valuable business data? Are your services centralised or reliably backed up in case of an emergency? For these scenarios and more there is a solution that can minimise headaches, manage risk and importantly keep your business moving.

What is a NAS anyway?

Network Attached Storage. Another generic self-explanatory I.T acronym to add to your list. However, despite the unassuming name this device can perform a myriad of tasks to keep your small business running smoothly and provide peace of mind if there ever is an issue in your office. Let’s run through some of the benefits.

1. Your 24/7 workhorse

Sitting quietly on your network, the NAS provides a centralised location for your team members to store and access data. Better yet, it doesn’t matter what device you choose to access this data from as the NAS works with PCs, laptops, Macs and phones connected to your office network. Your team can access files 24/7 either within the office or externally.

2. Plays well with others

We’ve touched on the compatibility with your favourite systems and devices, but wait there’s more! The humble NAS can sync and backup files with your favourite cloud storage providers, such as Google Drive, Dropbox and more. This feature provides an excellent level of redundancy either way. If your internet provider is having issues and you have limited or no access to the internet, your files are right there in the office and can be accessed locally regardless of your internet access. On the other hand, if something happens locally and you find yourself needing access to critical files, your team can still access them via your cloud storage.

3. Affordable and grows with you

The NAS is scalable and affordable. You can add additional storage or upgrade if you find that your business needs are changing or expanding. There is a NAS for all office scenarios. Some start from as little as $160 AU for a single bay NAS with your average two bay NAS hovering around the $400 AU mark. Just remember this price does not include storage – that’s up to you however you have complete flexibility. More bays equal more redundancy via RAID and expanded storage capacity.

4. Not a one trick pony

Okay, we all understand now what a NAS does in its primary role, however your new best friend keeps on giving depending on your needs. For example, you can also attach networked security cameras and store your footage on the device which you can access anytime. Different manufacturers provide different features – there will be one right for you.

Overall, the NAS could be the solution to your I.T environment you didn’t know you needed. It’s easy to forget to manage and plan your small business I.T when you’re busy running the business, so if you would like to know more reach out here and let’s get started.

Four reasons why your business should be on YouTube

ben@incahootsco.com.au (Ben Hayward) — Mon, 17 Feb 2020 08:49:07 GMT

Are you using the world's second most popular search engine to your advantage?

When it comes to social media content, many small businesses are familiar with Facebook and Instagram campaigns however sometimes forget about one of the original social media titans, YouTube. There are plenty of reasons why you should be on this platform and we'll cover some of the more compelling ones below - outside of enjoying the latest viral content.

Landscape: Social media reach and influence continues to grow within Australia. According to the good people over at we are social active social media user growth continued to increase by +5.9% (2018 - 2019). While Facebook still sits at the top of the social media pile, with Instagram and LinkedIn enjoying growth as well, YouTube sits not-so-quietly beside them with 2019 numbers sitting at 15,000,000 unique active users per month.

So why should you think about Youtube in a new way?

1. Your video content anchor

YouTube is unique compared to other platforms as an accessible (no account login required) platform to easily view content. It's not overwhelming for a less savvy social media consumer, with content being sharable via traditional channels and via popular messaging apps such as WhatsApp or even text message.

Creating content via YouTube can be relatively easy and should be the 'home' of all of your video content (a source of truth if you like), which you share via Facebook, email campaigns, websites and so forth. YouTube has excellent analytical tools which you business can leverage as well. Just remember to not produce content for the sake of it; make sure it has a purpose or business goal behind it.

2. Create

At first glance creating quality video content for your business channel can seem technically overwhelming or time consuming however more than likely you already have the tools to get started. Own a smartphone? You have a camera. All late models can now shoot in 4k which YouTube searches love. Avoid shaky video with a simple tri-pod or gimbal and be conscious of your environment when shooting videos (avoid windy, noisey backgrounds if you do not have an external microphone).

3. Reach

As we touched on above, the reach of Youtube is incredible. It's the second most used search engine in the world! This is an excellent opportunity to connect with domestic and international markets. While many social media users will sit there all day scrolling past endless content, most people who engage with YouTube are actively looking for something - and this could be your business or product!

4. Engage

You only have to look around your workplace, public transport or even your own home to know that a large number of people prefer to watch content instead of reading it. Videos capture people's attention and can often make things easier to understand with short, sharp and informative content. Your YouTube channel can also be used to answer customer questions via comments or link to other products.

Summary:

So there you have it. It's always a good time to take another look at YouTube, whether you're starting out or need to refresh your current channel and content. If you have any questions or would like to know more about getting started please feel free to contact me.

Ipswich Websites news and updates

Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO): What Your Business Needs to Know

Want to stand out online and win more customers? It's not enough to just have a website. You need to be the answer your customers are searching for. That's where Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO) comes in.

What is AEO?

Why is AEO important for your business?

How can you implement AEO for your business?

Need help with AEO?

Stand Out from Crowd with Professional Web Development in Ipswich

Key Features of a Great Business Web site in 2025

Key Takeaways

Key Features of a Great Business Web site

Benefits of Professional Web Development - why DIY might actually cost you

Enhancing Online Presence

Incorporate Digital Marketing Strategies into Web Design ﻿

Meeting your expectations

Choosing The Right Web Design Agency in Ipswich

Maximising your business opportunities online

Before you build an e-commerce website ... read this

Before you begin: Key things you need to consider before building an e-commerce website

Your e-commerce checklist ﻿

Ongoing maintenance and integration into advertising platforms

What to look for in a website in 2023

Looking to build a new website in 2023? Here are some things to consider.

User Experience (UX):

Content Clarity:

Efficient Functionality:

Aesthetic Resonance:

Inclusive Accessibility:

SEO Mastery:

What factors contribute to a great website?

Seven things that you need to have for a great website in 2022

There are several factors that can contribute to making a website great. Some key considerations include:

You built it and they didn’t come. What you need to consider when building your own website!

Building a website has never been more accessible or consumer friendly. With the rise of web builders like Squarespace, Wix, GoDaddy and others, many small business owners jump at the change to ‘save costs’ by creating a website themselves.

Are you really saving money taking the DIY approach?

A business tool vs a static presence

Ongoing maintenance and integration into advertising platforms

The best way to engage with a web design agency

Tips to save you money, time and to get the website you want without stress!

Get prepared

Enhance your blog game for 2022. Why optimised imagery matters.

In a world of short format videos, does the humble blog still have a role to play within your business content strategy? Spoiler … it does! While the words are the centrepiece, there are other important aspects to consider when creating your blogs, particularly when it comes to imagery.

Traffic, brand building and more sales …

1. Why optimising and choosing the right imagery is important

2. Image file sizes - keep 'em lean

3. Captions. Super important.

4. Using the right file types. No, they are not all the same!

5. Alt text. Do not forget to include this one!

6. Thumbnails ... don't overdo it

7. Lazy loading. It’s okay to be a little lazy sometimes

6 reasons to consider Google Performance Max Campaigns

1. More Focus on a Target Audience

2. Better Performance

3. Goal-Focused Campaign

4. Ease of Setting Up

5. Full Channel Coverage and Holistic Approach

6. Ad Schedule and Location Visibility

Amping up! What is AMP and why you should explore accelerated mobile pages

What is AMP and why you should explore accelerated mobile pages

What is the Google Merchant Centre?

A great (free) platform that can help your e-commerce sales!

New features for Google Business Listings

The latest feature update aims to streamline options to help businesses manage their profiles.

Your business needs a CRM from day one

Many people starting their own business underestimate the need for a CRM

How a chatbot can help your small business

No business is 'too small' for a chatbot

Don't ignore your Google Business Listing

A Google business listing is a great first step to getting your small business out there at zero cost.

Link building and Off-page SEO

A quick overview: Off-page SEO and how it helps your business website

Small business: Why you need a great website

Almost every small business needs to have a great website.

A change is coming....

Google Core Web Vitals is here

Why keeping your website updated is critical

Looks like your website is a little outdated and needs an update. Not something you want to hear, particularly if you rely on it for business.

Why engage with a web designer?

Ipswich Websites offers the perfect balance of creative design with business focussed functionality and hosting.

Why a content management system (CMS) is important for your growing business!

Incorporate Digital Marketing Strategies into Web Design

Your e-commerce checklist

Who doesn’t love to learn about another acronym?