Everyone knows that finding a gift, within your price range, can be incredibly difficult. You the recipient to like it, love it, and use it. Knowing what they have, what they want and what they need makes buying the perfect gift a real challenge.
Now, many people will often say, “why don’t you just ask them”. But let’s be honest, how often does that illicit a response that gives any direction. Often that just leads to an ‘I don’t know’ or ‘you don’t need to get me anything’.
Here is a list of great birthday gift ideas that you know she will love.
Funky kicks
The Adidas gazelle is the perfect mix between comfort and style. They cushioned insole makes for a great all day shoe and the suede outer ensures style in all situations. With lots of colours available, it’s a simple gift that is sure to please.
Fresh herbs
This is the ideal gift for someone who loves their garden or is an avid foodie. A small herb pot tray and the appropriate seeds is a gift that will last a long time. Even better, it’s the gift that keeps on giving.
Just be sure to have the herbs sprouting before you give it to them so they don’t have to do all the work.
Icy poles
An icy pop-tail recipe book and the plastic moulds is perfect for a summer gift. Who doesn’t want an alcoholic snack?
This gift lasts a long time and is certainly something that she will use – even better if she’s the type to host. It’s also a fun gift that allows her to be creative with endless possibilities.
Watch
Whilst it might seem a little cliché, there is nothing wrong with picking out a watch for her birthday. Watches are, excuse the pun, timeless pieces that last forever. They rarely go out of fashion and are a great accessory for all occasions.
Because who doesn’t love listening to music anywhere, anytime? Gifting a quality speaker is sure to make her happy as she can blast out her favourite tunes at the beach or at home.
The versatility of this gift makes it a winner and something that will almost certainly get frequent use.
Wine glasses
Every house needs wine glasses and you can never have too many. Drinking with friends is what makes it enjoyable so the more wine glasses, the more fun.
This is ideal for those moving to a new house or moving out of home for the first time. Wine glasses are versatile and can break easily so having a few extras is always a good idea.
Have a birthday coming up? Is your best friend is getting married? Don’t have enough ideas for your sister’s baby shower or your brother’s bachelor party?
Don’t worry about that because we have you covered for Australia’s best party supply stores. Go all out every time you party. Go big or go home. Take your party to the next level by adding some sparkle to your glamourous night.
In the digital age, offline marketing techniques can be overlooked in favour of email, social media, pay-per-click and content marketing. It’s often argued that offline marketing represents more of a risk because it cannot be tracked, measured and analysed to quite the same extent, but that’s not to say it doesn’t still have plenty to offer many businesses in 2019.
Although offline marketing does not always deliver the instant impact of an online campaign, it can still prove to have an impact and be cost-effective in the long term – you just have to think carefully about how you want to spend your money.
With that in mind, here are our 5 top tips to turbocharge your offline marketing efforts over the year ahead…
1. Give word of mouth a helping hand
Word of mouth is the oldest form of marketing of them all, but it still represents an extremely powerful tool for businesses of every type. Traditionally, word of mouth was something that was generated organically following the sale of a quality product or the delivery of a service the client was delighted with. However, in this day and age, you can give word of mouth marketing a bit of a nudge.
You can rent a space at a trade show or exhibition or simply grab samples of your product and head down to the high street to get your name out there for free. Renting a few tablets or iPads for the day will allow you to capture the details of the public immediately and sign them up for mailing lists or future discounts so you can spread the word just a bit more quickly.
2. Network your way to success
Networking is an excellent way to build valuable business contacts and share ideas and experiences with other business owners in your local area. Networking has undergone a resurgence over the last decade and there are now events you can attend right across Australia.
Some networking groups may set certain joining criteria such as professional background or company size to ensure their members can help one another, so make sure you join a network you can benefit from. The right network will not only allow you to generate leads but it will also contain professionals whose services could be invaluable to you.
3. Say it with a text
Photo: Terimakasih0, Pixabay
One popular and potentially extremely effective form of marketing people do not always think of as ‘offline’ is the text message. Reaching people via text is a quick, cheap and simple way to tell your customers about your latest products, special events and promotions. It also enjoys the best engagement of any marketing medium with open rates of around 98 percent. That’s way beyond anything email marketing can offer you. You can also combine SMS with your online activities to deliver location-specific text messages in real-time.
4. Get innovative with digital out-of-home marketing
Digital out-of-home (DOOH) marketing is a new technique that allows you to communicate with customers in an innovative and memorable way. DOOH campaigns involve the use of digital signage in public areas that capture the smartphone ID data of those around it to display marketing messages customers would be interested to see.
Although it’s still very much in its infancy, big things are expected from DOOH marketing in 2019. Not only does the personalisation of the messages and the way they are delivered make them more memorable and engaging than messages delivered on a conventional billboard, but the displays also wait for the right kind of customer profile before showing your ad. That ensures you’re only charged when your ad is seen by prospective customers in your target demographic.
5. Don’t forget the printed material
All the innovation above will certainly keep your customers engaged in 2019, but there’s still plenty of room for high-quality printed materials. Once you’ve caught the eye of your prospective customers, you can move them seamlessly along the sales funnel with printed materials that provide detailed information about the products and services you offer. Not only do printed materials add credibility to your business, but they’re also the most effective way to communicate large amounts of information. With the attention span of online customers continuing to shrink, a printed brochure allows customers to research their options in their own time.
There’s so much that can be achieved with offline marketing that we think you’d be wise to consider how it can be incorporated into your marketing strategy in 2019. That’s not to say you should shun online marketing. Instead, try to find the perfect mix of complementary online and offline strategies to drive your success over the year ahead.
Similar to all law and legislations, understanding your rights, interests and responsibilities can be an extremely difficult task without any guidance. The best way to access proper and objective knowledge is to visit a government or organisation based legal website which can properly inform you. Check out what we consider the three property law websites for you to navigate!
The Law Society of New South Wales
The Law Society helps to guide and enforce legal standards. Photo: screenshot from www.lawsociety.com.au taken on 18/7/17.
The Law Society of NSW is an organisation that attempts to act as the voice of the legal profession, and exists to help assist regulating and enforcing professional standards. It attempts to unite law as a profession through its networking opportunities and guide the profession. So can this website serve as a great place to learn about property law? In short, yes it can.
The website grants access to the Law Society’s Property Law Committee with is a forum for younger individuals and students to express their views and explore further information regarding legislative detail. The purpose of the Committee is to provide members and users of the website with property law information ranging from conveyancing, leashing, franchising, mortgages, taxations, planning, strata, building, construction and the sale of a business.
For specific detail or legal guidance, the Law Society of NSW is a valuable website.
Australian Legal Information Institution
AustLII provides free, comprehensive access to information regarding Australasian law. Photo: screenshot from www.austlii.edu.au taken on 18/7/17.
AustLII is Australia’s largest and leading access to Australian legal information for free. Its one goal is to promote and improve access to justice by properly informing as many people as possible. It is a joint faculty between the University of Technology Sydney and the University of New South Wales, containing collections of primary and secondary materials.
For users of the AustLII website, it provides legal information that is purely objective, precise and accurate. The only downside to the website is its bland and often difficult to read design, however the specificity it provides more than makes up for it. For example, AustLII has comprehensive and extremely detailed information regarding the Real Property Act 1900 and the Conveyancing Act 1919.
If you are looking for specific and hard to find detail regarding your legal case, AustLII will have more than enough information available and applicable to your case.
Queensland Government: Legal and property rights
One of the most comprehensive and extensive websites available was produced by the Queensland government for its citizens. What it offers is a myriad of information regarding your legal and property rights. It serves as an official, and as such, a reliable basis to inform yourself about what can and cannot affect you. More so, the information has been condensed and simplified in such a way that you do not need a great understanding of Australia’s current legal technicalities to understand the information available.
The Queensland Government website is an official, trustworthy source for gathering legal information. Photo: screenshot from www.qld.gov.au taken on 18/7/17.
For example, the Queensland Government legal and property website offers vast and considerable information regarding property ownership laws and how such laws cover buying and selling real estate property. Furthermore, there is substantial information regarding property disputes and how to resolve property despites that may occur between neighbours, real estate agents and family members.
Other categories that the Queensland Government websites branches into are the laws for building houses and pools. Rather, what is and what is not considered viable for your property interests. Also available is advice and support for owners of properties from other relevant associations, and niche information regarding government land acquisition and resumption, and the access to property for mining.
However, not only does the website aim to inform you of the small legal differences, it also suggests to you the best course of action outside of just legal rights. What the Queensland Government website does right is that it attempts to always keep your best interests in mind. Even if you are not from Queensland, this website serves as a great basis to keep yourself somewhat informed.
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This article is a private opinion based on private research and it shouldn’t be considered as advice.
Whether you’re an international tourist or a local that is looking for something fun and interesting to do on your weekend, Melbourne has you covered. The city is a vibrant, hip and dynamic metropolis that has a very exciting city centre with many things on offer.
It’s cultural diversity, street art and many laneways is what Melbourne is renowned for and is what keeps people coming back time after time. The city itself is massive and you could spend your entire day just wandering around exploring the place. But if you want to do something in particular and don’t know where to start then we have got you covered.
We have compiled a list of 20 things for locals and backpackers that you can do in the Melbourne area. So strap in and let’s jump right into what Melbourne has to offer!
List of just some things that you can do in Melbourne:
1. Try some of the world’s best coffee
Photo: FonthipWard, Pixabay
Thousands of online reviewers have come to the conclusion that Melbourne has some of the best coffee. It was actually voted having the world’s best coffee in 2014 via booking.com! That means that Melbourne had beat out many lucrative coffee cities such as Rome and Vienna. It’s hard to find a bad coffee in Melbourne, you will have an easy time wandering through the laneways and sitting in at a café.
2. Get a glimpse of some cool street art
Melbourne – Light boxes street art – Hosier Lane. Photo: Alpha, Wikimedia Creative Commons
Melbourne is also one of the best cities to see some incredible street art. The city council has areas that are designated for only high quality street art and it also changes regularly. Which means it’s always a great spot to visit even if you have been there before. A lot of upcoming artists will have their work showcased here and there is even a Melbourne street art tour available run by the artists themselves.
3. Listen to some live music
Photo: Pexals, Pixabay
Melbourne is one of the best cities in Australia to experience some live music especially the rock scene. There are always bands playing at various locations across the city, whether it be at a bar or a concert. If you aren’t in the city for a concert or festival some hot spots to catch some live music at night include: Post Office Hotel, Corner Hotel, Evelyn Hotel, Ding-Dong Lounge, the Spotted Mallard, Palais Theatre and the Esplanade Hotel.
4. Attend a festival
Photo: Pexals, Pixabay
Live music is done right in the capital of Victoria and if you get the chance you need to attend a festival. These events can run for a couple of days and is a great way to make new friends or to catch up with current ones. Check the online guide to see who is playing and where or you can head down to the visitor centre in Federation Square. For all upcoming festivals that have already been announced for the year click here.
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is arguably one of the favourite sporting stadiums of the nation. This venue is home to several sporting events with something always going on during the sporting hot seasons. If you’re in the mood for some soccer, rugby, cricket, AFL and much more then you will need to come down. The stadium also has things to do in the off season as it is home to the Australian Gallery of Sport and Olympic Museum as well.
6. Wander through the many laneways
A laneway with Melbourne’s famous “street art”. Photo: Fernando de Sousa, Wikimedia Creative Commons
One of the best things to do in a new city is to wander around and explore it. Going through all of the laneways is a great way to see what the city has to offer and you may even find a bite to eat or something to drink along the way. Some of the more popular lanes that people tend to frequent often are the AC/DC lane, Centre Place, Degraves Lane and Hardware Lane.
7. Stop by Federation Square and Flinders Street Station
From the outside, the Flinders Street Station makes for one hell of an Instagram pic and is the main symbol for Melbourne. You’ll find it plastered everywhere from postcards to many tourist brochures. Federation Square is just across the road and is another popular symbol for the vibrant Australian City. If you do make it to the square be sure to check out the Australian Centre of the Moving Image.
Only walking distance from the city centre is the hidden oasis of the botanic gardens. This sanctuary is a great calm escape from the bustling urban outside. Many exercise enthusiasts, meditators and photographers love this setting for its stunning landscape. These gardens are home to over 8,500 different plant species!
9. Satisfy your Mediterranean food craving
Photo: Jcvelis, Pixabay
Apart from Greece itself, Melbourne has the largest Greek population and from so have brought their exquisite cuisine style with them. There are many Greek restaurants as well as other Greek inspired activities to do. There are many cultural shops as well as the Hellenic Museum in the city centre. March and September also host the Antipodes Festival and Greek Film Festival.
Shopaholics beware as Melbourne is renowned for having world-class shopping specialty and outlet stores. Chapel Street is very popular amongst celebrities due to the incredible collection of high quality clothing that they have on offer. If you’re more in the mood for outlet shopping then head on over to Bridge Road where you will find budget friendly stores as well as some great places to eat. There’s even something for the vintage collectors if you want to head on out to Fitzroy.
11. Visit the Melbourne Gaol
Old Melbourne Gaol, former prison, museum in Melbourne. Photo: Hideki Saito, Wikimedia Creative Commons
The old Melbourne Gaol is smack bang in the city centre which operated as a prison from 1842 to 1929. It was home to many notorious criminals before they were executed including Ned Kelly. Now it is a museum that offers a glimpse into what life was like in the 1800’s in Australia. Many visitors and staff claim that the site is haunted where you can also opt to have a ghost tour of the facility.
12. Enjoy a night out at the casino
Melbourne Crown Casino Complex in Southbank of the Yarra River. Photo: Donaldytong, Wikimedia Creative Commons
The Crown Casino in Melbourne is a massive resort that is situated right next to the Yarra River. It is the largest casino complex in the entire southern hemisphere and racks up pretty well compared to its international competition. It’s open every hour of every day all year round except for 3 public holidays. If you’re not into gambling it also features luxury shopping, an insane nightlife culture and many fine restaurants.
13. Get amongst the Queen Victoria Markets
Queen Victoria Markets. Photo: S3074865, Wikimedia Creative Commons
The Queen Victoria Markets have been at the centre of the Melbourne food scene since they were established in 1878. Along with some of the freshest produce that you can find in Australia, the markets also have many delicatessens such as smoked meats, cheeses and olives. The venue also hosts many events throughout the year so be sure to check in to see what’s going on.
14. Appreciate Aboriginal art
Aboriginal art. Photo: Esther1721, Pixabay
There are many Aboriginal art galleries in the city and the surroundings. There is also an impressive collection at the City Gallery which is located inside Town Hall, Ian Potter Museum and the Flinders Lane Gallery. Aboriginal art is spoken about highly throughout the world and there is no better way to truly appreciate it than in its home country of Australia.
On Lygon Street you will find Melbourne’s own little Italy. This stunning street is decked out with gorgeous plants throughout the suburbs and is nestled with many high quality cafes and restaurants. If you are a fan of good coffee and food then you definitely need to head down to Little Italy. Additionally the Lygon Building is home to many shopping boutiques as well as Italian produce if you want to try it out at home for yourself.
16. Cruise the river
Yarra River Melbourne. Photo: Pixabay
The Yarra River is spectacular and is a perfect opportunity to take in some of the city’s stunning views. There are many different cruise operators on the river so you can choose which company you want to go with to match your budget. You can also kayak down the river with the appropriate guide but be warned, if you fall into the drink you will need to change and shower ASAP.
17. Ride on a vintage wooden rollercoaster
St Kilda’s Lunar Park opened in 1912 and has the world’s oldest operational Roller Coaster. It may look a bit vintage and rickety but it is a fun take on the traditional roller coaster and a great way to step back in time. The park has free entry so you only have to pay for the rides you go on and the food you eat.
18. Penguin spotting in St Kilda
Photo: Patrizia08, Pixabay
St Kilda is stuffed with attractions which includes going down to the beach and spotting a colony of penguins. The colony established itself on the shores of St Kilda in the 70s and arrives just after sunset throughout the year. In summer you will notice that there will be a lot more so be sure to check it out then. This activity is great for families of all ages as it gives you the chance to teach the little ones about penguins and who doesn’t like penguins!?
19. Hop through the hundreds of galleries
Photo: Patrizia08, Pixabay
Melbourne has hundreds of galleries that it is possible to start your own gallery crawl as you make your way through the exquisite culture that the city has to offer. Art lovers can easily spend weeks just visiting the many galleries and exhibitions on display. Some of the best galleries in the city are featured on this list here.
20. Have a picnic at the Carlton Gardens
Carlton Gardens, Melbourne. Photo: Ben Britten, Wikimedia Creative Commons
The Carlton Gardens are an amazing 26 hectare site that also contains the Royal Exhibition Building, IMAX Cinema and the Melbourne Museum. It’s only a mere walk from the city centre and is also listed as a World Heritage Site. The amazing wildlife is a perfect opportunity to come down with a loved one and whip out a picnic basket.
Being broke is one of the worst feelings a person can experience. If your bank balance is dangerously low, making you wonder how you’re going to make ends meet, then it’s time to stop worrying and start acting. Here are some clever ways in which you can make some money to sail you through the month.
3 Ways to make money when you’re in a cash crunch
Sell Your Car For Cash
Do you have a clunker sitting in your garage taking up space? What if you could turn that junk car into cash? There are many car wreckers in Australia who offer cash for cars. You can sell your old or damaged car to them as it is, and they will pay you cash for the car. Since they buy cars as they are, you don’t have to worry about fixing up the car for sale. Not only will you get some cash, you will also get some valuable space in your garage, space that was previously wasted on a clunker.
Become a dog walker
Dog walking is a great way to make some extra money on the side. You can do it after work and on the weekends. You’d be surprised at how many people pay for dog walking services. In our busy world, with our hectic schedules, more and more dog owners are finding that they simply do not have the time or energy to take their dog for a walk every day. The solution? Hiring a dog walker. Once you build your reputation as a reliable and trustworthy dog walker, you will get referrals and can charge a high rate, making quite a bit of cash on your spare time.
Become an Airbnb host
Australia attracts tourists the way honey attracts bees. People from all over the world come to Australia to see our natural wonders and experience the Aussie way of life. And what better way to do that than to stay at a local’s home? Rent out your home on Airbnb. It’s a great way to make money.
Quick tips to save money
Making money is only half the battle won. If you don’t know how to save money, then you will forever find yourself in a dire financial situation, chasing after money. The trick is to not just make enough money but save it and make your money work for you. And how can you do that? Here are some quick tips that can help you save money in the long run.
If you eat out a lot, try to cut down, limiting yourself to a maximum of 2 to 3 nights a week.
Love coffee? Invest in a good coffee machine so you can make the morning coffee at home instead of getting one on your way to work. You’ll end up saving a lot just by doing this little thing.
Peddle or walk to work. If your office is within walking distance, ditch the car and walk or peddle to work. You’ll save on fuel costs, and if you pay for parking, you’ll save on parking charges as well.
Invest in energy efficient lights and electronic appliances. If you have the cash to spare, it is also a good idea to invest in solar panels. They’ll help you save money on energy bills, but more importantly, they will add value to your house, increasing its resale price.
Keep your credit card in a hidden slot in your wallet or purse. Out of sight, out of mind. Limit credit card usage for emergency situations only. If it’s something you want and not need, then pay for it with your debit card. If your funds are running low, then you need to prioritise and spend the available funds on essentials such as rent, groceries and fuel, and make do without the nonessential items.
Making and saving money doesn’t have to be rocket science. A little planning, breaking some bad lifestyle habits and making some investments that give good returns is all that it takes to build your wealth. Start small and build your way up as you go. Remember, your finances should be in your control – not the other way around.
The reason behind the popularity of cycling over the years is not only because the effect it has on our bodies, on muscle toning, improvement of endurance and strength levels but also the way it affects our health.
It represents one of the simplest, examples of exercising with low-risk suitable for people of all ages and cycling daily can even help battling with mental health issues. So, what are you waiting for?! The weather is perfect to hop on a bike and start pedaling.
Cycling for the normal function of the body
It is a well-known fact that human body needs physical activity to be able to function normally, and that means at least half an hour (moderate to intense) of exercising if you want a long-term health.
It is no coincidence that every gym has bicycles for cardio practices. And the best thing about cycling is that it gets you places while you’re actually working out!
Affects almost every part of the body
Unlike the general assumption that cycling helps only in toning the muscles of thighs and the calf, it is, in fact, more of an overall physical training that includes almost every muscle in your body.
It involves a lot of pedaling and your legs are doing all the work indeed but the arm muscles are also strengthening because they are needed for you to actually balance the bicycle. While riding your bicycle your abs are also lightly active.
Cycling boost energy
Riding a bicycle every day helps increase your body’s stamina and endurance levels. Your energy levels get higher which means you are in a better mood, more productive and enthusiastic at work and generally show better performance.
Photo: Rido81, Bigstock
You will have more energy and find it easier to deal with stress since you can cycle it away. It can be a great warm-up exercise to cycle on your way to the gym for a workout session or you can simply use it as transportation.
An eco-friendly option
Replacing your car with a bicycle will not only help you maintain your health and stay fit but it will also help save the nature around you.
You can park it wherever you want, you don’t have to spend money on gas and you can even invest in a quality folding bike and take it with you on your vacation or in the train if you commute between cities.
Improves cardiovascular function of the body
There is strong evidence showing the health of the muscles in your body is closely related to cycling because, during your ride, the heart beats faster than usual which means it pumps more blood and therefore improves cardiovascular function.
It is crucial to stay active to prolong and maintain your health and it is advised that seniors should start low-impact, low-risk workouts to improve their general well-being.
Helps in the battle against various diseases
Cycling is good as a diabetes treatment since it can be controlled by physical activity. The prevention and treatment of diabetes are crucial for your health since diabetes increases the risk of various diseases such as kidney disease, heart problems, and even stroke. Engaging in a physical activity to combat diabetes is crucial because the glucose present in the cells is actually exhausted and the one from the blood is drawn by the cells and used as the fuel for the muscles i.e. it is converted into useful energy.
It has been shown that cycling helps to manage pain. It is considered as a releasing exercise that is very important when dealing with stress, tension, and actual physical pain.
Also, cycling helps lowering the risks of cancer – people who take up moderate to high physical activity reduce various diseases including the mental health problems. Outdoor cycling as well as indoors (gym or home) are both beneficial when it comes to maintaining health and staying fit but it is much better to make some time and make it an outdoor activity.
Excellent weight loss workout
If you want to lose weight but you don’t really have time to go to the gym you should definitely start cycling every day since it is an excellent exercise for burning calories. It will help you maintain a lean body shape so you should continue with cycling as a part of your workout routine even though you’ve reached the wanted weight.
These are just some of the health benefits cycling has on your health and your body. Try to make time for a ride a day and you will quickly fall in love with results. It is advised to cycle early in the morning, on your way to work for example, since you are more likely to be more productive and feel more energized to deal with stressful work tasks.
At a time when competition among companies is touching new heights, it is important to stay focused on core competencies. However, it doesn’t mean that businesses can ignore received support requests because if they do, the problem of customer turnover is more likely to take place. This is certainly not good for the business’s overall productivity.
To ensure that customer service department gets handled appropriately, firm owners generally decide to outsource call centre services. Owing to this wise decision, they enjoy smooth business growth. It is so because outsourcing companies always ensure that their clients never get a chance to complain. What’s more, business process outsourcing firms often try to set new records in terms of the quality of customer care services.
Unlike multinational corporations, small business owners are yet to understand the significance of BPO companies. Thereby, the former often try to handle customer service requests by running an in-house call centre. Due to lack of experience, however, small businesses fail to deliver and lose customers’ loyalty.
Here are the three major pros of approaching outsourcing companies that would definitely be an eye-opener for those businesses that prefer to run an in-house call centre:
Direct access to support agents
To cater to customers’ needs perfectly, the major required resource is ‘A team of dexterous support agents.’ It is so because there would be no point to possessing state-of-the-art technology if you don’t have skilled people to use it. In addition, the quality of customer service heavily depends on the skillset of support agents.
Getting a myriad of support agents on board can affect the business’s bottom line as you have to invest a big chunk of money in the hiring and training process. What’s more, if the trained support agent leaves after a short time, the need for a huge investment of money would surely arise. And continuously investing in the hiring and training can certainly shake up the profit levels.
Here, the prominence of well-known outsourcing companies gets increased as they have a large team of adroit support agents at the disposal. That means businesses can get direct access to deft support agents by simply deciding to outsource customer care services.
In a nutshell, availing services from BPO companies is the best option that business owners have got.
24/7 assistance
In this day and age, customers are deemed as a factor that can unlock revenue generating opportunities for business owners. According to reports, 55% of customers spend more money if a company promises delivery of quality support service at the time of need. Furthermore, better customer retention rate ameliorates profit levels from 25% to 95%.
Therefore, it is significant for companies to not give customers any reason to criticise the brand. For this, offering 24/7 assistance is paramount. However, this isn’t an easy job as you must have support agents working in two or three shifts for the sake of handling customer service queries round-the-clock. At this juncture, running an in-house call centre doesn’t seem a sagacious decision.
Here, outsourcing companies come to rescue as they have a mammoth experience in handling support requests 24/7. In addition, BPO companies offer their around-the-clock support service at a pocket-friendly price. Of course, this factor can’t be ignored.
Scalability
Scalability is the other major factor that draws the attention to outsourcing companies. This factor can’t be taken lightly because the volume of customer service queries fluctuates throughout the day, and such oscillations can be handled if you have a large workforce with you.
Usually, companies that run an in-house call centre have limited support agents to handle customer service queries. During peak hours, they face unnecessary hassle and struggle to deliver splendid support experience. During off-peak hours, moreover, they have to pay to those agents who sit idle. In short, both understaffing and overstaffing can create problems for productivity.
Here, letting BPO companies handle customer support requests could be very beneficial for businesses as the former doesn’t encounter scalability issue owing to a large workforce and vast industrial experience.
Hence, if you are a business owner and willing to ensure that your customers always get customised support experience, make contact with any recognised business process outsourcing companies ASAP.
So you’ve finally taken the plunge and decided to create a website for your business? Great idea! But where do you start? And how can you make sure that you don’t end up being one of the plenty in a pile that no one is sorting through?
SEO can be incredibly effective for your website, but you need to get your fundamentals right to do a good job. This guide aims to help you get started with optimising your new website effectively for search engines.
What Does Website SEO Mean?
The goal of SEO is not to cheat search engines to reach the top, but ultimately to achieve the following:
Create a good user experience.
Communicate your content to search engines so they can endorse your website in relation to specific searches.
Increase the number of visitors and quality of traffic to your website.
Google promotes high-quality web pages to the top of search engine rankings, so it us important for you to create content that resonates best with your target audience. This involves creating content that is useful for readers because helpful content is typically shared on multiple platforms, which results in Google recommending the website for higher search engine rankings.
How To Use SEO Effectively For Your New Website?
Basic SEO is essential and will help position your website as an authority page. Employing certain strategies will help you use SEO effectively for your new website:
Understand What Search Engines Look For
Your first step is to better understand what search engines look for when it comes to promoting certain websites over others. So what are search engines looking for?
Content – Well-written content relevant to specific searches will enable you to deliver what users want to read.
Authority – Does your website have enough quality content that other websites want to link to? If not, you may want to rethink your content strategy to promote content that is authoritative in nature.
Performance – Is your website performing optimally? How fast does it load and is it user friendly? Poorly performing websites will have less traffic than higher performing ones.
User Experience – How do users find your website? Can people navigate through different pages easily? What are your bounce rates? Answering these questions will help you create a better user experience for customers.
Search engines are always updating what they look for, so make sure you refresh your content accordingly.
Avoid The Techniques That Will Bring Down Your Rankings
Search engine bots and spiders are always going through websites to audit their performance, so it’s important to avoid techniques that will hurt your rankings over time. If you undertake shady tactics, like the ones below, you will end up hurting your long-term efforts:
Keyword stuffing – Some people think that stuffing keywords into content will help optimise them for search engines, but the reality is the opposite.
Purchasing links from shady sources – Buying links will ultimately hurt your SEO efforts, so make sure you avoid this tactic even though other websites may be employing it.
Heavy videos and slow load speeds – While tempting to load your website with videos and rich content, always consider load speeds. Slow load speeds will hurt the user experience and will result in higher bounce rates, which will hurt your long-term SEO rankings.
Avoid too many ads – Too many website ads will make it hard for users to find relevant content, and will result in them turning to your competitors.
Be Clear About Your Business Model To Create A Clear Call To Action
While obvious enough, many websites create confusion for readers when it comes to establishing a clear call to action from them.
Your goal should be to clearly understand your business model, so that you are able to create a clear call to action from your users. Consider the following:
What do you want from your users?
Are you intending to make a sale, sign up new customers for your database, build contacts or get people to download information?
What are your main business goals?
How will you position the call to action on your website?
A clear call to action statement is important to generate the results you desire. Failure to pay attention to this factor will hurt your long-term SEO efforts.
Optimise For Multiple Social Media Channels
There is no point of building a website that no one can see. But many businesses don’t realise the power of social media when it comes to driving enhanced visibility. Your SEO strategy should not only be confined to your web content, but it should be extended to social media channels, including:
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
Instagram
Pinterest
Snapchat
While all these platforms may not necessarily be right for your business, some of them will certainly be vital to drive visibility. Be consistent with your messages across these different platforms to facilitate your branding efforts and optimise your web pages.
Focus On Metadata
Content on any website should have meta descriptions and title tags as part of the overall SEO strategy. Consider the following for your website’s meta data:
Meta keywords should be formatted correctly and should clearly explain what the content refers to.
Meta descriptions should be accurate, unique and should clearly articulate the content of a specific web page.
Avoid duplicate meta descriptions from one page to another because this may harm your SEO efforts.
Focus on creating unique title tags that are not to short or too long, and should be enticing enough to get readers to click on them for more information.
Metadata can play a key role in your SEO efforts, so don’t ignore how important they can be for your brand new website.
Creating a new website can be daunting when you haven’t done it before. These fundamentals will help you get on the right track, so you develop a website that search engines will promote during searches. At the end of the day, search engine optimisation should always be at the forefront of any strategy to maximise results for your business.
The Government wants to legally force councils around Australia to execute their citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day.
David Coleman, the Federal Immigration Minister, has revealed that he plans to make changes to the code that dictates how citizenship events are handled so as to force councils to hold their ceremonies on January 26.
Many local government councils around Australia have had their right to hold citizenship ceremonies revoked by the federal government for voting to move their ceremonies from January 26 to a date that is less controversial. This is because around the country there is ongoing debate about whether or not the arrival of the first fleet – regarded by some as ‘invasion day’ – is an appropriate date for Australia Day as it alienates indigenous Australians.
Mr Coleman acknowledged that “there is no requirement” forcing councils to hold their citizenship ceremonies on the 26th of January and that Government was planning to engineer that requirement.
Commenting on the issue, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that “I think people want Australia Day to be Australia Day”.
He also reminded Australians that they should follow the formal dress code for citizenship ceremonies and save their “boardies and thongs” for afterwards.
Local councils will be given the chance to provide official feedback regarding the proposed code changes.
Opposition leader Bill Shorten said that the Government was only pursuing this to “keep their base happy”. Despite this, Mr Shorten said that the Labor party would review the details of the proposed changes.
In October of 2018, the Byron Shire council was forced to back down from its decision to hold its citizenship ceremonies on January 25 rather than January 26 after the Government threatened to revoke its right to hold them at all. The council conceded to hold its official ceremony on the 26th but would still hold all other events on the 25th.
