Online Business

What is SEO?

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What is SEO

SEO, short for Search Engine Optimisation, is the process of attracting traffic from the ‘editorial’, ‘natural’, ‘organic’ or ‘free’ results from search engines.

According to SEO Perth, SEO developed into a marketing discipline and focuses on how to create more visible non-paid search engine results. To drive (online) traffic, improve result rankings and increase the awareness in search engines both, creative and technical aspects are involved.

While in some cases, it matters how other websites are linked to you on the web. In some cases, SEO involves making sure that the structure of your site is such that the search engines are able to understand it.

Search engine optimisation is not merely creating websites that are understood by the search engines. They also have to make the website better for their users.

Search engines such as Bing, Google, and Yahoo currently drive the highest percentage of web traffic. And these are still the most popular method used by internet users to navigate, despite there being traffic directed from social media.

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Business Security

Are Alarm Monitoring Systems Useful for My Business?

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Alarm Monitoring Systems

Businesses across Australia are turning to high-end alarm monitoring systems to secure their premises and reduce the risk of vandals and other intruders damaging assets or property. There are countless options available, but they all have the same purpose – to notify you or your security company when something’s wrong at your place of business.

However, a lot of businesses still underestimate the importance of alarm monitoring, and they tend to suffer as a result. With this in mind, we decided to put together this short guide outlining what alarm monitoring systems are, why they’re useful and why you should seriously consider installing one, in your business place, if you don’t already have one.

What Are Alarm Monitoring Systems?

To put it simply, an alarm monitoring system is any type of security system that includes ongoing monitoring to ensure your office is protected. In their simplest form, these involve simple security systems with motion detectors that are linked to a smartphone app or website. If an intruder or other issue is detected, you will receive real-time notifications.

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Legal Advice

4 Things to Think About When Making a Position Redundant

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unfair dismissal claim

One of the most important employer rights in Australia is the right to make a position redundant when it’s no longer needed. However, this has to be done carefully and within the scope of the law to ensure you don’t end up facing unlawful or unfair dismissal claim.

Unfortunately, redundancy can be a slightly complicated topic. Because of this, we’d recommend consulting with a lawyer or other legal professional if you’re considering making a position redundant. On top of this, we’ve put together the following list of the top four things to consider when making a position redundant to help you get started.

  1. Make Sure You Consider Redeployment

One of the major things you have to think about when you’re making a position redundant is whether or not you can redeploy the affected employee within your company. If at all possible, you have a legal requirement to offer affected employees another position, even if the position is significantly lower in the company hierarchy and pays much less. If you don’t you will likely end up facing an unfair dismissal claim.

  1. Provide Support Where Possible

If possible, you should provide support to employees who are going to lose their job due to a position being made redundant. While some people may prefer to be left alone, others will appreciate support in the form of:

  • Being allowed time off to attend job interviews.
  • Being assisted through some sort of redundancy program.
  • Providing help searching and applying for a new position.

Again, the better you treat people who are going to be made redundant, the less likely unfair dismissal claims are to arise.

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Online Business

3 SEO Mistakes You Could be Making

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SEO Mistakes

If you run or manage a website of any shape or form, you’ve probably heard of SEO. If you haven’t, you need to do some research and get familiar with at least basic SEO techniques, otherwise your search engine rankings will suffer.

With this in mind, I’ve put together a list of some of the most common SEO mistakes that inexperienced web developers and website owners tend to make. These can range from small mistakes that are easy to fix to large problems that could be severely impacting your site’s performance, and include:

  1. Failing To Use A Professional SEO Agency

Unless you have significant SEO training and experience, I’d always recommend at least consulting with a professional agency to make sure that you have a viable SEO strategy. Doing this should help you make sure that you’re getting the most out of your website.

Ultimately, SEO professionals can be expensive. However, the fact that they know exactly what they’re doing and how to do things will certainly work in your favour. If you try and take control of your own SEO, you will probably make mistakes, will be inefficient, and will take a lot more time to do things than you should.

A professional SEO agency who know all the SEO quirks won’t do this, and using one will free up your time, allowing you to take care of the things that you’re good at.
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Online Business

How Does Your Drug Rehab Social Media Strategy Impact SEO?

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Drug Rehab Social Media Strategy

Being active on social media is essential for the long term success of your drug rehab. Many potential clients will search for drug rehabs on Facebook and Twitter before contacting someone, which means that it is crucial for your social media pages to make a good first impression.

However, being active on social media goes beyond this. Some people will argue that your social media marketing and presence doesn’t affect your SEO rankings, but I disagree. In fact, I’d say that being active on platforms like Facebook and Twitter is one of the most efficient uses of your time. There are a wide range of ways that your drug rehab social media strategy can impact your SEO and your search engine rankings, including:

A Good Social Media Strategy Can Drive Traffic To Your Website

Google takes a lot of things into consideration when determining your search engine ranking. Visitor behaviour is just one of these things. If you can drive relevant, interested people to your website through your social media profiles, your SEO efforts will almost certainly be positively impacted.

Advice about SEO from Google suggest, interested visitors who click through from social media will be more likely to spend more time on your website, reading and engaging with the content that you have to offer. This will lower your bounce rate and increase your visitor retention time. Both of these things will help improve your SEO rankings.

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Legal Advice

Social Media Marketing For Law Firms

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Social Media Marketing

Family lawyers throughout Australia and the world are having trouble finding clients in an increasingly competitive environment. Although different marketing efforts – like social media marketing – can be effective, it is very important for you to understand how to use them properly before you start.

If you try and start marketing your law firm on social media without understanding what you’re doing, you will find that you are wasting your time, that you don’t get a whole lot of results, and that you may even end up building a poor image for your company.

Start By Creating Social Media Profiles

The first thing that you need to do when it comes to marketing your law firm on social media is to build strong profiles or pages. Make sure that you have a presence on the most popular platforms – including Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Make sure that you are consistent with your branding between platforms, and make sure that they all link back to your website and to each other where possible.

Post Interesting Content

One of the things that makes social media such a great marketing medium for law firms is that is allows you to get your name out there and to gain exposure. When done right, social media marketing can give you an advantage over your competitors – something that every lawyer wants, right?

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Legal Advice

Big Data and How It Affects Hiring

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Big Data Hiring

The hiring landscape is changing rapidly and corporate lawyers are feeling the impact. The environment is complicated and so are the tools that employers use to sift through mountains of resumes.  Time is short for most recruiting professionals and finding the best candidates has become increasingly competitive.  Often, it’s the first employer to find a candidate, and make an offer, that is able to recruit top talent.

So employers are rapidly turning to vast data stores and software to assist them in culling out the chaff and leaving only the desirable candidates behind.  Some refer to this as the “Big Data” movement.

What is driving the move to Big Data?  First, most candidate assessment tools are extremely old and outdated.  The software is based on decades-old assumptions and  processes and don’t take into account the way candidates want to find jobs and the way the modern workforce communicates and lives.

Additionally, the modern workplace has changed and the metrics we’ve typically used in the past to assess performance have changed.  Technology has changed what jobs demand, the work hours people choose, where they work from, etc.  Tradition tools aren’t equipped deal with these changes.

With recruitments, come dismissals. If you think you may have had an unfair dismissal, speak to your lawyer.

The workforce has changed as well.  Generations of workers have come and gone since recruiting tools were updated and the present generation operated on very different values, assumptions, and goals that workers in past eras.

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Finance Advice

What Types Of Super Funds Are Out There?

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Types Of Super Funds

When it comes to super, a lot of people don’t really know how their funds are being managed. Although most decent accountants can advise you on what you should be doing with your super, it is important to have a decent understanding of the Australian super system.

Although it is very difficult to access your super before you retire, you can choose how and where it is invested. If you have a substantial amount of super, then you should definitely consider looking into the types of super funds out there. Choosing one which suits your personal situation can cause your super account to grow substantially over time. Some of the more popular super fund options include:

My Super:

My super is a government run superannuation program designed to become the default fund for people working for new employers. It has relatively low fees when compared to most other types of funds, making it a good choice for people with low super balances. However, it only provides basic insurance cover and one investment plan.

Industry Super Funds:

Most industry super funds were developed by trade corporations or members of a specific industry to provide super investment services to workers in that industry. Most industry super funds work on a not for profit basis, which means that your fees are generally small. A lot of larger industry super funds are now open for public investment, and some people argue that they have higher returns than other types of fund. Note that investment options are usually limited to a few choices with industry funds.

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Legal Advice

How Lawyers Evaluate Contracts?

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Getting a lawyer’s insight before signing a contract is essential; whether it is a legal employment contract, a real estate contract, a license agreement, lease agreement, or mortgage. Many times, people overlook the basic details, and at times, even the contract and the country’s law contradict each other. To avoid problems like these, commercial lawyers can assist you in evaluating your contracts.

Following is how lawyers assess a document to make sure that the employer or any other contractor is not being extremely strict and putting your rights at stake, either during or after the employment.

Important Clauses
Before signing a contract, you need to make sure that it is stating all the important points and clauses that the employee discussed with you during the meeting; see this doc Australian Contract Law Reform. An effective contract highlights all the major details. For example, in some contracts, there is a mention of the time period it is applicable for and whether the contract is enforceable or not.

Additionally, when it comes to it, the document should mention clearly about exchanging certain items in place of others, as necessary. Formation of the contract cannot take place if the exchange is not valid or equal. This can also include a situation when the services that a person is providing are greater than their salary or at no salary at all. In this case, there is a lack of consideration, which makes it an illegal contract.

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Online Business

Everything You Need To Know About Internet Advertising

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Internet Advertising

Digital marketing is a complex field that involves both paid and free marketing strategies. Internet advertising is probably the most common form of paid digital marketing, and it comes in many forms.

Some types of internet advertising are very simple and involve little to no technical understanding. However, others are much more complicated and require someone with a lot of experience or training to get the most out of them. Understanding the types of internet marketing that are out there is the first step on the road to a successful business: choosing the right advertising streams for your needs is the second step.

Why should you use internet advertising?

A huge percentage of the world’s population use the internet every day, and this number is increasing rapidly as more and more people gain access to the internet, especially in developing countries.

It therefore makes sense to use some sort of internet advertising to promote your business. If you don’t, you are probably missing out on a potentially huge market. You may find it hard to compete with similar businesses who do use internet marketing strategies, and may have trouble building a successful enterprise.

What kinds of internet advertising exist?

With the help of experts, we found that there are a number of different types of mainstream internet advertising methods, including:

Search engine marketing (SEM):

Search Engine Marketing involves the use of very targeted keywords and short ads, usually placed at the top of search engine results. These are designed to drive interested people to your website, and are very useful for selecting the right audience, especially when used with large search engines like Google.

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Online Business

The Key Areas to Focus on in a Web Development Project

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Web-Design-Latest-Trends

Whether you are an amateur at web design and development, or someone who has been playing in the field for a long time, you’ll need a few pointers that are like a miniature checklist. This will help you focus on the key areas that need to be taken care of when you are developing a website. Some of them are pretty obvious, while the others are sometimes forgotten in the course of a typical web development program. Anyway, here are the nitty-gritty details of the important things that need to be attended to.

Browser compatibility – When you are developing a website for a client, it is important to make sure that the site is compatible with most of the commonly used browsers. Sites that are incompatible with popular browsers will only result in drastically low traffic for your client’s site, and that is not something you want on your hands.

The background templates –Pretty often, developers focus too much on the elements in the foreground and pay little attention to what runs behind it all. Having a user friendly background that is easy on the eyes seems like a small thing, but it contributes greatly to how popular the site gets with time. Obviously, people will not linger too long on a webpage that strains their eyes.

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Online Business

Two Major Web Design Mistakes To Avoid

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Web Design Mistakes

If you ask for web design advice from anyone who either has or has had a website they’ll tell you lots of things you should have on your site. Some of it will be correct but some advice will so wrong that if you follow it, you could harm your website and its usefulness permanently.

Here are two major web design errors that you must avoid completely when you design your website.

#1 Forgetting Why You Have A Website

There are literally thousands of business websites on the internet that seem to have no purpose whatsoever…don’t let yours become another one. It seems crazy that a business would pay a web designer to design them a website, only for that site to have no discernible reason to exist other than to showcase their skills built from web design tips.

When you sit down to plan the design of your website, the first question to answer is what goal or goals do you want the website to achieve for your business. If it’s a simple one-page sales letter or video, then the obvious purpose is sales.  Some single page sites might have the alternative goal of gaining email subscribers.

If branding is of paramount importance above all else, then branding should be prominent throughout the site. Your site might be a blog where you share information to build trust and eventually customers. A larger corporate site may have information on the company, with product ranges and services fully explained in order to generate leads.

Whether it is any of these or one of the many other reasons why you’d want your business to have a website online, when you come to design it, make sure that purpose is fully accommodated its design and structure.

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Online Business

Social Media Marketing – Marketing to a Brand New World

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Increased used of the internet, changes in consumer behavior, perceptions, brand preferences and lifestyles have all impacted the manner in which businesses used to operate. Nevertheless, internet marketing entails much more than just getting your website up and waiting for the world to beat a path to your door.

It becomes extremely hard for us to understand sometimes how our life has changed until we pause for a second and take a deep look at how different our life is from what it used to be ten or may be five years ago. Social media, in recent years, has impacted our lives more than anything else.

This global transformation that has taken place over the past few years because of advanced social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook might have been unimaginable for most of us at the beginning of this decade.

With the dramatic evolution of the internet, traditional communication methods have largely been replaced by the latest communication techniques including social media networking and marketing. Social media in today’s world has revolutionized the way in which businesses promote their offerings to their customers.

It is an undeniable truth that a number of businesses in recent times venture into social media marketing with hopes of getting a good return of their investment. The expectation is that customers will be attracted in droves and that the benefits and revenue generation will be phenomenal. The immense power of social media can be used to communicate with millions of web surfers who search the internet every day to look for products and services to satisfy their needs.

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eCommerce

How to Decide on the Best eCommerce Platform?

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The multimillion-dollar eCommerce industry is growing by leaps and bounds in Australia. When it comes to making the online business, a success an online business owner needs to take many things into consideration. And one of the most important aspect of any online business store is picking the right eCommerce platform.

People starting an eCommerce business may feel overwhelmed by the different types of online platforms that seems to offer the same services. However, the platforms differ in terms both in terms of price and functionality. Some ecommerce sites do not require separate hosting, however you can hire a professional hosting company. Here we will take a look at the most popular eCommerce platforms that offer the best deal for online businesses.

Shopify

Shopify is a hosted eCommerce platform that does not require you to purchase a separate platform. The big upside of the eCommerce store is that the availability of add-on apps that greatly extend functionality of the online store. However, a downside of the eCommerce platform is that it offers limited ability to customize the interface.

Magento

Magento has been considered the best online platform for eCommerce sites. The online platform is used by major e-commerce companies due to greater flexibility in customizing the site. The only drawback of this platform is that creating and customizing the site requires hiring a professional website designer which adds to the cost of operating the store.

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Legal Advice

Important Legal Issues to Consider For Protection of Your Startup

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As an entrepreneur engaged in a startup, there are several issues that need to be resolved in the early days of establishing your company. Failing to do so may involve complicated legal issues where you will need an experienced criminal lawyer or corporate lawyer especially in terms of copyright and patents, where even partnerships especially, can go wrong.

One of the biggest real life examples of copyright litigation was faced by Mark Zuckerberg himself in the Zuckerberg vs. Winklevoss faceoff regarding the rights of Facebook. Though Zuckerberg himself walked away with the company, still the payoff to those who litigated against him including his partner, won a considerable amount of compensation.

However, not everyone can be lucky enough to own a company worth millions. With such factors in mind, it is imperative to take note of the legal aspects of a startup where every loose end should be tight enough to protect you from any chance that litigation lawyers will pursue you for copyright claims.

Here’s what you need to do:

 Make a clear-cut agreement with your partners

An initial co-founder agreement will ensure you do not face any copyright problems from disgruntled co-founders. A partnership can go wrong, it happens. This is why you need to be firm in the beginning. A co-founder agreement should contain the following clauses:

  • Percentage rights of individual members
  • Designations of members and extent of responsibility
  • The limitation of rights of a member resigning from the partnership
  • The rights of remaining partners to buy shares from a resigning member

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Legal Advice

Pros and Cons of Buying Off the Plan

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Buying Property

Property lawyers will tell you that buying property off the plan means you are putting down a deposit for a property that is not yet built. This happens most often when a property developer buys a big acreage of land that he intends to subdivide into smaller blocks and build homes on, then sell. To get the money for that, he advertises the plans, which allows prospective buyers to choose one of many blocks in an area they like.

There are pros and cons of buying off the plan that should be carefully considered before going ahead.

Pros

There are several advantages for this type of purchase.

  • You only have to pay a deposit to start with and no more until the home is built.
  • This allows you to put off getting a loan if the interest is high, but you think it might fall in the next few years.
  • It may allow you to save up more so you don’t have to get loan, or can get a smaller one, thus saving some costs.
  • You may get to have a say in which finishes are used for your home, since you are the buyer.
  • It can allow you plenty of time to sell your own home, or to become more stable financially.

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eCommerce

Key Features That Your Ecommerce Website Should Have

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You may have setup a complete ecommerce website for your online business in Australia, but are you sure it has everything you need for next year? Here are some must-have features that can help you improve the business by making things more efficient:

Firstly, maintain an innovative, fresh, and engaging online presence. This is not something you have to look at annually, but on a daily basis, because ecommerce is a very competitive market. In recent years, the Australian ecommerce industry has not only served as a significant tool for revenue growth, but has encouraged consumers to spend beyond their limits. In the next year, there is going be an increase in overseas and local retail purchases by an estimated amount of $25 billion. Therefore, if your website doesn’t appear engaging, others will make sure theirs does.

Another important requirement is to keep your ecommerce processes competitive. You must try to cover all likely aspects to make sure that your customers can access your products and services. For example, The Iconic Magazine is not just available in hard copies, but is available online as well, making it accessible for mobile users too.

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Branding

Why The Right Brand Design Is Important For Your Business?

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Brand-Design

Do you know the relative importance of your brand? Do you know why it is essential to have the right brand for your business? If you think that the connection between brand and business has just been exaggerated, then think again! The importance of a brand cannot be stressed enough based on what it can do to ensure the success of the business. Because your brand is the first image of your business!

Playing Show And Tell With Your Business Brand
Isn’t it every business’s dream to have their customers absolutely adore what they have to offer? Well, the question is how do you achieve it? By making your brand the face of the business, and telling and showing customers your products through your brand; of course.

To have a brand which is the face of your company, you need to make sure that it brings your values and business commitment to the fore. Statistics share that around 81% of the decision makers regard their business brands to be critically important in driving purchases.

This signifies that customers pay great importance to brand perception. If yours is a brand design developed by experts who have infused your business value into the design, then you will be able to drive sales in the market.

Remember. Brand design is not just a logo, shape or a set of colours. It is a set of values, memories, commitments, goals and expectations, which are given a pictorial representation.

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Finance Advice

Salary Sacrificing vs. Paying Down the Mortgage

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Salary Sacrifice

Many financial planners agree that salary sacrificing is an excellent way to save and avoid paying high levels of tax, at least on some of your income, but is it really better than paying down your mortgage?  Andep Financial planning advice usually offers many ways to save money and reduce your costs; but whether this is one of them will depend on your specific circumstances.

For instance, if you are in a very high tax bracket, it can certainly pay you to salary sacrifice, especially if having done that, your income is then in a lower tax bracket level.  But it is not always the best thing to do as far as making the most of your dollars goes. It absolutely depends on your individual circumstances, which is why it is best to consult with a financial advisor; one who works independently of any company such as a bank.

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Legal Advice

What You Need To Know About Commercial Leasing

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If you have found the best property for your commercial premises, then you must now be considering signing a lease for the property. But do you know what a commercial lease is, and are you familiar with the different clauses which outline the importance of the document?

According to commercial law experts, the clauses in the lease highlight the rights and obligations of both the tenant and the landlord, and any discrepancy and negligence can result in breach of contract by either one of the two parties.

Your Commercial Lease – What Is It?
It is very important for you to recognize the importance of a commercial lease, as it is a legally binding contract. It is essential for both the tenant and the landlord to understand the different terms and conditions given in the contract before signing up the contract.

It is also important that both the parties recognize their obligations and rights, so that all disputes can be avoided, or easily handled if any should arise. Since most lease clauses are quite complicated, it is important to seek the help of an expert who can advise you on the matter.

You need expert legal help, before you,

  • Occupy any leased property
  • Pay any deposit or any other form of monies
  • Make commitment to take, lease or buy on any work which might affect your lease obligations
  • Sign a lease contract

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Legal Advice

The Importance of Business Contracts

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Business-Contracts

If you own a business you will have to sign a lot of contracts. There are many different types of business contracts and commercial lawyers are needed to ensure you are not signing something that will adversely affect your business or your ability to run it.  People agree to contracts in all their daily buying without even realising it. Such contracts are not signed, but include a clause that by doing business with the company you agree to the terms of the contract.

This can be as simple as setting up a bank account or buying a book online. It is in place when you purchase groceries or go to the doctor or dentist.  Most people don’t even read these contracts and it doesn’t really matter most of the time. It simply protects the business in some way.

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Online Business

4 Reasons Why Web Design Is Important For Your Business

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Web-Design

Web design is certainly a magic wand. All you need to do is wave it and your desired results are right in front of you. With the increased use of online media and ecommerce businesses, the concept of web design is gaining popularity and familiarity in the business world.

Not only people have begun paying attention to website’s designs but they have equally adhered to take steps in making the website more functional and effective. As Paul Cookson, a famous entertainer and author, has said:

“Great web design without functionality is like a sports car with no engine”.

The website design has a direct impact on moods, decisions and actions of your readers. With an effective web design, you can drive a lot of consistent traffic to your site. Not just this, there are many more advantages of web design for your business; four of them are discussed below in detail.

1. Increased Number of Visitors
A web design with effective and impressive features will ultimately attract visitors. If you’ve more symbols and figures rather than content on your site, people will instantly get your message without reading long paragraphs. Having their questions answered, they’ll prefer your website the next time they’re in search of anything related to your business. This will guarantee you consistent visitors.

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Legal Advice

Facts About Estate Planning

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Estate-Planning

If you have assets then you will need to plan for their distribution after you die. Having a consultation with a family lawyer will ensure that your estate planning is done correctly so it is legal and no one can step in to challenge or change it. You have a right to leave your assets to whomever you want, but the law says you have a duty to your family to support and maintain them, so they should not be left out.

That said, you can still leave gifts to charities and people who are not related by blood, at your discretion.

Step children cannot Contest a Will, but other family members may. If you leave out some family members but not others, those who are not included can challenge the Will. Even if people are included, they can still challenge the Will if they think they should have been left more. These are the people who can challenge your Will.

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Online Business

Top 3 Ways To Get More People Following Your Business Pages

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Business Pages

Social media is one of the most important advertising mediums for removalists and removalist businesses such as in the modern world. It allows a removals business to connect with potential clients, to offer special deals and to book jobs in an easy, streamlined manner.

However, it can be very hard to attract new followers to things like your Facebook and Instagram profiles. Removalist profiles are not something that people follow without a good reason to, which means that you have to give them that reason. Try and make your social media pages attractive and engaging by providing content that people can relate to.

Here are my top 3 ways for getting more people to follow your removalist social media pages:

  1. Post Relevant, Engaging Content

People use social media for a number of reasons. It lets them stay up to date with modern events, it provides a relaxing, humorous break from modern life and it helps them to discover new things that interest them.

As a removalist business owner, you need to try and create posts which people are going to be able to relate to and engage with. Use clever memes, share relevant news or web articles and above all, do your best to reply to comments and questions in a timely manner.

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Legal Advice

How is Commercial Property Rent Calculated?

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If you are looking to lease a property for commercial reasons, it is wise to consult with your lawyers & solicitors well before you sign anything. They can ensure that the lease is drawn up properly so that you know exactly what you will have to pay. And they can add clauses to protect you from many potential problems. So how exactly is rent for a commercial property calculated? Several things are taken into consideration.

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