web design blog

Thank you

2012-02-17T10:28:00.001-08:00

Just to say THANK YOU SO MUCH for your donations for my 50k run tomorrow. We have raised €650 so far in just 18 hours !!!

Attached is the PayPal receipt for the amount paid to Temple Street.

Please if you havent donated yet please visit www.his.ie if you wish to donate on line.

Google cleared for Motorolla

2012-02-14T00:07:00.000-08:00

Regulators in the United States have approved Google's plan to purchase mobile phone maker Motorola Mobility - soon after it won clearance from European authorities.

The US Justice Department agreed with the European Commission in finding that the $12.5 billion deal would not stifle competition.

Motorola split in two last year, prompting Google to bid for the section that makes phones and tablet devices in a bid to add more than 17,000 of Motorola Mobility's patents to its patent portfolio.

Google hopes the deal will give it an edge over competitors such as Apple and Samsung and boost its Android operating system.

Approval from China, Taiwan and Israel is needed before the deal is completed.

Source : RTE News 14th February 2012

Irish Statistics for Social Media

2012-02-03T09:39:00.000-08:00

Always wondered how popular social media is in Ireland ? Did you know 900 Irish businesses join Facebook everyday.

Read More>>

BEBO = GONE ?

2012-01-31T09:41:00.000-08:00

The co-founder of Bebo has denied claims the social networking site has shut down.

Michael Birch, who launched the one time Facebook and Myspace rival with his wife in 2005, sparked confusion on Twitter last night.

"Am super sad that Bebo has actually gone. Some very fun times with very cool people. #RIPbebo - keep sharing that luv!"

But it wasn't long before he tweeted again, creating the mix up.

"Hold the press (too late for that). Bebo should be coming back in a matter of hours.
#LongLiveBebo".

Sold for £540m

According to reports Bebo has been taken offline because of technical problems.
Adding to the confusion was a lack of information from either of the site's official Twitter feeds.

There's been no comment on either TeamBebo or Official_Bebo for weeks.

Users have been using Facebook and Twitter to talk about their memories of the site.

Ian Morrow used Newsbeat's Facebook page to write: "please do something on Bebo shutting down without warning."

"Have lost thousands of good memories," he added.

But Steph Yule tweeted: "Why's everyone greetin about Bebo? No ones used it in years!"
Founded in 2005 at one point Bebo was as popular as Facebook and Myspace with tens of millions of users.

But since it was bought by AOL in 2008 for £540 million the site rapidly lost users and value.
AOL sold it just two years later to private equity firm Criterion Capital Partners for a fraction of the price paid for it, reportedly just £6.3million.

BBC News January 31st 2012
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/16810502

Facebook here we come !

2012-01-29T03:17:00.000-08:00

his.ie is now on facebook. You can visit us here at this link :

http://www.facebook.com/pages/hisie/336821259684487

We can offer you :

Facebook Bespoke Pages
Pacebook E-Commerce
Facebook Galleries
Facebook Polls
Plus much more

SOPA = BAD impact for Ireland !

2012-01-26T10:24:00.000-08:00

Minister of State Sean Sherlock has said he still plans to introduce a statutory instrument to amend copyright legislation in the near future despite concerns expressed about its potential impact on internet access.

The matter was raised as a topical issue in the Dáil today by Independent TD Catherine Murphy, who said further discussion was needed before any changes were made to the law.

An online petition opposing the proposed amendment has continued to grow, recording over 48,000 signatures since it began earlier this week.

Opponents fear that the change could potentially see court orders blocking popular sites like YouTube and Facebook.

There are also concerns that the law could make Ireland less attractive to technology start-ups and multinational companies like Google.

In the Dáil today, Deputy Murphy said there was a fear that copyright holders could use the amended legislation to force Internet Service Providers like UPC and Eircom into blocking popular websites because a single user is found to have infringed on intellectual property.

Deputy Murphy said such a complex issue would better dealt with through primary legislation and that TDs faced a "hurricane storm" of anger from the public if people were not satisfied with the way the issue was handled.

In response, Deputy Sherlock said the planned amendment "merely re-stated an existing position" and was being introduced to ensure that Ireland complied with a European directive on the matter.

He insisted the change was not comparable to the controversial SOPA bill that has been drafted in the United States and that it was not the intention of the Government to limit the freedom of the internet.

Deputy Sherlock said any judge considering an injunction would have to balance the rights of a copyright holder with those afforded to ISPs and users under ecommerce and freedom of expression directives.

He offered to have further discussion on the matter - however Mr Sherlock could not say if that would happen before the statutory instrument was put in place.

He also said primary legislation may ultimately be required to deal with the issue but that no changes would solve the problem of piracy as the internet tends to adapt to "circumnavigate" new laws.

He said there was a need for ISPs, copyright holders and members of the industry in Ireland to sit down voluntarily in order to find a solution that protected everyone's interests.

Protests in Poland over anti-piracy agreement

Yesterday thousands of young Poles hit city streets across the country in a mounting wave of off-and-online protest against a government decision to sign an international anti-online piracy accord.

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, which Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk has vowed to endorse, aims to create international standards for intellectual property protection.

However, Internet groups including global hacker collective Anonymous oppose it as limiting online freedoms.

Poland, an ex-communist state which joined the EU in 2004, has committed to signing ACTA today.

A protest by thousands organised largely via Facebook in the central Polish city of Kielce yesterday turned violent when some protesters trashed cars and attacked police, the commercial TVN24 news channel reported.

Protesters also turned out for anti-ACTA rallies in Wroclaw, Szczecin, Olsztyn and Bialystok.

Online protest pages on Facebook have attracted more than 300,000 supporters, while an anti-ACTA online petition had drawn about 130,000 signatures by yesterday evening.

Protesters are upset Mr Tusk's government pushed ahead with ACTA after meetings with commercial media, but held no public consultations with online rights groups.

SOURCE : RTE NEWS 26th JANUARY 2012

SOPA = BAD

2012-01-18T00:12:00.000-08:00

Wikipedia has blacked out its English-language site for 24 hours to seek support against proposed US anti-piracy legislation it says threatens the future of the internet.

The English language Wikipedia receives an average of more than 25 million daily visitors from around the world, according to comScore data.

The service will be the highest profile name to join a growing campaign that will see it black out its pages so visitors will only see information about the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act (Sopa) and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (Pipa).

"When you are trying to do your research paper, when you are just trying to find some factual information and a lot of people rely on Wikipedia, it won't be there," said Lance Ulanoff, editor in chief of online news site Mashable.

"They'll basically come to a message that says they've gone dark in protest."

Smaller site Boing Boing has also blacked out its pages, with those behing Reddit.com have promised to do the same.

Search engine Google will not black out its pages but a link will be placed on their homepage connecting to information about why Sopa may not be a good thing.

Google has repeatedly said the bill goes too far and could hurt investment.

Along with other Internet companies such as Yahoo, Facebook, Twitter and eBay, it has run advertisements in major newspapers urging Washington lawmakers to rethink their approach.

The Sopa legislation under consideration in the House of Representatives and Pipa in the Senate aims to crack down on online sales of pirated American movies, music or other goods by forcing internet companies to block access to foreign sites offering material that violates US copyright laws.

Advertising networks could also be required to stop online ads, while search engines would be barred from directly linking to websites found to be distributing pirated goods.

The proposed laws would also force some websites offline.

    How it will work:

US Attorney's office will have the power to order internet providers not to carry offshore sites it deems illegal

    What providers will have to do:

Monitor customers' traffic and block web sites suspected of copyright infringement

    Who supports Sopa:

The music recording industry, Hollywood film companies, police and firefighters among others

    Who is against Sopa:

Most of the internet industry including Google, Facebook, Twitter, eBay and LinkedIn

Source : Sky News 18th January 2012

Website Mobile Ready ?

2012-01-03T23:55:00.000-08:00

The mobile web is growing at a phenomenal pace, and is forecast to overtake the desktop web in 2014. In other words, more users will access the Internet using a mobile phone rather than a PC for the first time.

Approximately 900 million people currently access the web with mobile phones, compared to 1.4 billion desktop Internet users. In 2014, mobile web users will outpace desktop users (approximately 1.7 billion mobile users to approximately 1.65 billion desktop users). By 2015, the number of mobile web users is expected to grow to 2 billion.

Assuming an annual growth rate of about 2 percent annually between 2010 and 2015 in cell phone subscriptions (77 percent of the world's population will have cell phone subscriptions in 2010 and 87 percent will have subscriptions in 2015), about 6.35 billion people worldwide will have a mobile phone subscription and approximately 1 out of 3 subscribers(or 2 billion out of 6.35 billion) will be accessing the Internet on mobile phones. (Source: Wikimedia)

Is your website compatible for this format ? Will it display properly in thier browser ?

Contact us today to help your website gain valueable market share in this sector.

New Year = New Leads

2012-01-02T00:47:00.000-08:00

So you have a website but are you using it to its potential ? Over half of people will look for you on line today than any other source. Remember to integrate Facebook / Twitter accounts into your site to help drive traffic and new customers to it.

Also getting paid on line now is very simple with merchants such as PayPal making the process very easy. Contact us today too see how we can help you grab your potential customers.

Happy New Year !

Get noticed on YouTube

2011-12-20T23:44:00.000-08:00

YouTube reflected on its banner year today, announcing that it served over 1 trillion playbacks in 2011. "That's about 140 views for every person on the earth," YouTube's Rewind blog post says. YouTube saw record traffic and mobile growth this year. It gets 3 billion views per day, and video uploads have doubled since last year.

It is now the second largest search engine next to Google and is a great way to get your product or service noticed. If you have a YouTube video we can embedd this into your website to help your end user connect to you at an affordable price.

Please feel free to contact us at any stage.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

2011-12-20T15:30:00.000-08:00

Just a quick note to thank all our clients that have helped and supported us throughout the year. Have a great Christmas and a Prosperous New Year !!

Eric & Corie

New Revamped Website Launched

2011-12-20T00:16:00.000-08:00

We have launched our new streamlined website with a clean and fresh new look. We still have the same services such as web design, seo, domian purchases, hosting plans and on-line payment plug ins.

Why not visit our nerw website today. Click here to view

Build your own website

2011-11-15T23:58:00.001-08:00

We have found that during the recession people are very cautious when it comes to costs for their business. Here at his.ie we have created and developed a simple online website builder that you can populate your content.

You can create pages on the fly, update content, change colour schemes, upload logos etc..

We also created a youtube video to show you out system in action :

For more information please visit www.iwebsite.ie

Newsletter Sign Up Marketing ,made Easy !

2011-11-15T23:49:00.001-08:00

At his.ie we know how important it is to relate to your customers on a regular basis. We can create an email catchment on a database so you can create professional HTML newletters.

We use https://mailchimp.com/ - its free to use, you just populate your customers emails and then you can create a great looking newsletter within minutes.

It will also let you know how many people received your email, and opened it and how many redirected to yout website.

For further information contact us today for further information.

Facebook Myths

2011-10-25T00:20:00.000-07:00

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's vision of a completely open society controlled by the wisdom of the crowd can be admired for its purity, yet the social network's blasé attitude to privacy has left it wide open to exploitation from scam artists, identity thieves, stalkers and bullies.

Prompted by a complaint by Austrian pressure group Europe v Facebook, the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) will, over the coming week, start an audit from the company's international base of operations in Dublin. What the DPC will uncover, if nothing else, will be some insight into how Facebook views its users and data protection legislation. The fear is the former are considered marketing opportunities and the latter an inconvenient barrier.

One of the central questions the DPC will be looking at is how data are stored. Where, say, Google says it treats personal data like a stuffed suitcase (yours to take wherever you like), Facebook sees it more like a bedroom: lots of fun stuff on the walls, but immovable and owned by someone else. So how worried should we already be? Here are a few common myths about what Facebook has on its users explored:

Myth: Your friends can post your location
True or false: False
Despite being the raison d'être of popular casual gaming network FourSquare, location sharing on its own never took off with Facebook Places. According to internal stats, only 6% of users bothered with it in its first two months, and it failed to kick on from there. The service is still available on mobile devices and you can tag status updates with your location, but the idea of arbitrarily 'checking into' places (airports and hotels being popular choices) is no longer with us.
To double check go into Privacy settings> How tags work> edit settings> and set 'friends can check you into places' to 'off'.

Myth: Facebook holds on to your data, even if you delete your account
True or false: False
Facebook is obliged to delete all your personal data when you get rid of your account, but there are two ways to close your account: deactivating, which is temporary and easily done; and deleting, which is permanent and not as easy to do.

Deactivating an account is done by clicking the link on your account settings (accessed on the top right of your screen under the Home arrow). This closes your account but does not remove it from Facebook's servers, making it a simple matter of reactivating your profile should you decide to come back, instead of having to start rebuilding your network over.

To delete a profile permanently you have to go to the website's help centre (www.facebook.com/help/search/?q=deleting+profile) and submit a request. It's not a huge process, so long as you know where to look.

We're marking this myth 'false' subject to the DPC audit not finding something more sinister.

Myth: Facebook has to provide you with a disc with all the data they have on you
True or false: False
Under Irish law, Facebook is obliged to give you a copy of all your personal data, but it does not have to be in a physical form. This comes as a bit of a disappointment to Europe v Facebook, which was hoping to cost the company hundreds of thousands of euro in pressing, posting and packaging discs.

According to section four of the Data Protection Act, individuals have a right to receive a copy of "any type of information such as written details about you held electronically or on paper, photographs and CCTV images. You are also entitled to know where the information was obtained, how it has been used and if it has been passed on to anyone else." Only a written request is needed.
Right now, Facebook provides a function for you to download a basic archive consisting of photos, wall posts, messages, chat conversations attached to your profile and your friends' contact details.

Under this function, you don't have access to friends' pictures and updates, personal information and comments you've left on other people's walls. Just click the link on your account settings page.

Myth: Facial recognition technology is tagging pictures of you without permission
True or false: False
Automatic face recognition was launched in June 2011 to instant outcry from privacy activists. The software automatically scans and tags pictures, but the tool was slammed as a way of collecting biometric data without consent. Legal action was threatened in Germany that could have seen a €300,000 fine imposed lest some sort of opt-out be provided.

To deactivate the feature go to Privacy settings> How tags work> edit settings> set 'tag suggestions' to 'off'. While you're there you should also make sure the option to approve tags is enabled (it should be). This will give you additional control over what pictures you get to be seen in.

Myth: Third party software developers know who you are
True or false: True
Under Facebook's developer platform policies, third parties have access to your 'basic information' once you install their application.
This means your name, e-mail, gender, birthday, current city and profile picture up for grabs. So yes, developers do know who is on their books, but you have to give them permission to get hold of your details first. So make sure you really want that movie/music/TV quiz before you give it permission.
Be on the lookout for fake apps. These typically appear unprompted, asking you to take part in surveys or are required to see a scandalous/exclusive video clip.

Niall Kitson is editor of TechCentral.ie www.techcentral.ie

Steve Jobs Dies at 56 on Oct 5th 2011

2011-10-05T23:25:00.000-07:00

Steve Jobs, billionaire co-founder of Apple and the mastermind behind an empire of products that revolutionised computing, telephony and the music industry, has died in California at the age of 56.
Jobs stepped down in August as chief executive of the company he helped set up in 1976, citing illness. He had been battling an unusual form of pancreatic cancer, and had received a liver transplant in 2009.

Jobs wrote in his letter of resignation: "I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come."

Apple released a statement paying tribute: "Steve's brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives … The world is immeasurably better because of Steve."

Bill Gates, the former chief executive of Microsoft, said in a statement that he was "truly saddened to learn of Steve Jobs's death". He added: "The world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact Steve has had, the effects of which will be felt for many generations to come.
"For those of us lucky enough to get to work with him, it's been an insanely great honour. I will miss Steve immensely."

He is survived by his wife, Laurene, and four children. In a statement his family said Jobs "died peacefully today surrounded by his family … We know many of you will mourn with us, and we ask that you respect our privacy during our time of grief".

Jobs was one of the pioneers of Silicon Valley and helped establish the region's claim as the global centre of technology. He founded Apple with his childhood friend Steve Wozniak, and the two marketed what was considered the world's first personal computer, the Apple II.

He was ousted in a bitter boardroom battle in 1985, a move that he later claimed was the best thing that could have happened to him. Jobs went on to buy Pixar, the company behind some of the biggest animated hits in cinema history including Toy Story, Cars and Finding Nemo.

He returned to Apple 11 years later when it was being written off by rivals. What followed was one of the most remarkable comebacks in business history.

Apple was briefly the most valuable company in the world earlier this year, knocking oil giant Exxon Mobil off the top spot. The company produces $65.2bn a year in revenue compared with $7.1bn in its business year ending September 1997.

Starting with his brightly coloured iMacs, Jobs went on to launch hit after hit transformed personal computing.

Then came the success of the iPod, which revolutionised the music industry, leading to a collapse in CD sales and making Jobs one of the most powerful voices in an industry he loved.

His firm was named in homage to the Beatles' record label, Apple. But the borrowing was permitted on the basis that the computing firm would stay out of music. After the success of the iPod the two Apples became engaged in a lengthy legal battle which finally ended last year when the Beatles allowed iTunes to start selling their back catalogue.

Jobs's remarkable capacity to spot what people wanted next came without the aid of market research or focus groups.

"For something this complicated, it's really hard to design products by focus groups," he once said. "A lot of times, people don't know what they want until you show it to them."

Jobs initially hid his illness but his startling weight loss started to unnerve his investors. He took a six-month medical leave of absence in 2009, during which he received a liver transplant, and another medical leave of absence in mid-January before stepping down as chief executive in August.

Jobs leaves an estimated $8.3bn, but he often dismissed others' interest in his wealth. "Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn't matter to me … Going to bed at night saying we've done something wonderful … that's what matters to me."

Source : http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/oct/06/steve-jobs-apple-cofounder-dies

Search Engines = Not Cheap

2011-09-22T07:56:00.000-07:00

After looking into the financial results of Bing so far, CNN found that Microsoft’s search engine has been losing nearly 1 billion dollars each quarter since its launch in June 2009.

During its first two years in market, Bing lost $5.5 billion, but that’s not everything. Looking in Microsoft’s older financial records reveals that the company’s online services division has been losing money since day one and it has never made any net profits till now.

Microsoft’s online services division has incurred total losses of $9 billion since the company started releasing its financial records in 2007.

Microsoft argues that those losses are required temporarily to establish a foothold in the online search market that has been dominated by Google for too long now. The company noted that it has been gaining market share against Google steadily over the last 27 months.

Microsoft’s argument is technically correct as Bing now maintains a 14.7% of the online search market, up from the 8.4% it owned at launch. But it is important to note that this market share was not taken from Google which maintains a market share of 64.8% now, only 0.2% down from the 65% it owned when Bing launched.

Almost half of Bing’s customers are Yahoo users who use it indirectly since Yahoo is now powered by Bing. The rest of the customers came majorly from Ask.com and AOL deserters.

Source : http://www.megagames.com/news/microsoft-lost-usd-55-billion-bing

WIPO hits reccord high in 2010

2011-09-14T07:46:00.000-07:00

In 2010, trademark holders filed 2,696 cybersquatting cases covering 4,370 domain names with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (WIPO Center) under procedures based on the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP), an increase of 28 per cent over the 2009 level, compared to an increase in domain registrations of 6.3 per cent in 2009, and of 16 per cent over the previous record year, 2008.
The WIPO Center is the organisation that deals with the largest number of dispute resolutions dealing with domain names. The National Arbitration Forum is another.
“The WIPO Center is the leading provider of domain name dispute services and provides a rich range of resources for users and the general public. The just-released major update to the WIPO Overview is an excellent illustration of these resources and reflects the long experience of the WIPO Center,” said WIPO Director General Francis Gurry.

“The revised WIPO Overview distils panel findings in thousands of domain name cases filed with WIPO since its launch,” added Mr. Gurry.

However while the WIPO Center rightly points to the record number of disputes it has resolved, it is difficult to know if cybersquatting has reached a record level or if enforcement has hit a record level.
“While the number of cases was up, the ratio of cases to total domains registered has only been lower once in the past decade,” notes Domain Name Wire. “The spike in cases can largely be attributed to a few mass filers using trademark enforcement companies. For example, Lego filed over 100 cases with the help of Melbourne IT Digital Brand Services.”

Since the UDRP’s launch in December 1999, the WIPO Center has received over 20,000 UDRP-based cases, covering some 35,000 domain names in both generic and country code Top Level Domains (gTLDs and ccTLDs). Cases filed with WIPO in 2010 included parties from 57 countries. These cases were decided by 327 panelists from 49 countries in 13 different languages, namely (in order of frequency) English, Spanish, French, Dutch, German, Chinese, Korean, Portuguese, Italian, Turkish, Romanian, Swedish, and Japanese. In 91 per cent of cases, panels found evidence of cybersquatting, deciding in favour of complainants.

The top five areas of WIPO complainant activity were retail, banking and finance, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, Internet and IT, and fashion . WIPO’s 2010 caseload featured well-known names from business and public interest sectors . Most of these cases (82%) concerned registrations in the .COM domain.

Among WIPO cases, the percentage related to country code Top Level Domains rose to 15 per cent of all cases in 2010 from just one per cent in 2000. National registries designating WIPO to provide domain name dispute resolution services increased to 65 in 2010 from 62 in 2009. Among the new additions, the policy for the .BR domain of Brazil is inspired by the UDRP but also imports several modifications specific to expressed local needs.

Against the background of the global emergence of domain names in local language scripts, as of October 2010, the WIPO Center is providing domain name dispute resolution services for both .AE and امارات. (dotEmarat). The United Arab Emirates now not only utilizes its existing .AE two-letter country code in Latin characters, but also the امارات. (dotEmarat) Internationalized ccTLD in Arabic script.

Source : http://www.domainpulse.com/2011/04/01/wipo-dispute-resolution-hits-record-level-in-2010/

Likes or Clicks ??

2011-09-01T11:08:00.000-07:00

Facebook has risen to be an important advertising channel for reasons that include: a huge user base, an extraordinary amount of available data about users, and an impressive (and growing) set of targeting options. Facebook ads can lead to conversions as well as more likes, which can give you a more long-term relationship with potential customers – a direct line to their News Feed.

What’s more valuable to you: a like or a click? Let us know in the comments.

SocialCode has released some research data showing a trend in age and gender for likes and clickthrough rates for Facebook advertising.
SocialCode GM Laura O’Shaughnessy tells WebProNews, “Younger users grew up on the web, and are comfortable with the ins and outs of social networking. Therefore, I think they are more inclined to click the Like button. They know what the button means and know exactly what it does, so they are likely to click it, whether it’s in an ad or elsewhere.”
“We find that older users are very likely to interact with ads on Facebook, but they are inclined to click through and learn more about the offer before clicking the Like button,” she adds. “We also assume that because older users are also the newest subset to join the social network, they may not have high friend numbers so ads may be less likely to have social context in advertisements.”
Here are some highlights from the research:

50+ year-old users, the oldest segment in the study, are 28.2 percent more likely to click through and 9 percent less likely to ‘Like’ than 18-29 year-old users, the youngest group observed
Versus the rest of the younger population on Facebook, 50+ users see a 22.6 percent higher CTR and 8.4 percent lower ‘Like’ rate
Overall, women are 11 percent more likely to click on an ad
‘Like’ rates are almost even for men and women; men are actually 2.2 percent more likely to ‘Like’ an ad than women
For women, CTR is 31.2 percent higher for the 50+ age group versus 18-29 year olds, men only see a 16.2 percent difference between the age groups
Versus all age groups, 50+ women’s CTR is 22 percent higher versus a 16.4 percent difference for males
The oldest male segment has an 11.7 percent lower ‘Like’ rate than the youngest segment, and 9.5 percent lower ‘Like’ rate versus all age groups. Women only see a 7.2 percent and 7.9 percent difference respectively

So what’s more valuable: a click or a like?
We ran across an interesting post from the National Healthcare Decisions Day site from earlier this year, in which the organization talks about the value of a Facebook “like”. It seems worth sharing with regards to this conversation.

“Lots of brands and organizations may ask you to ‘like’ them on Facebook,” says Christian Sinclair. “It really is a sign of the times. In fact we are asking you to do the same thing. But our aim may be somewhat different. We are not in it for the numbers, we are doing this for the engagement. A superficial click to like can make executives happy when they show more followers and more fans, but what really counts is what you do after the click.”

“Don’t get us wrong, we do want your click, but we will ask a little more from you,” Sinclair continues in the post. ”After you click ‘like’ make sure you stick around a while, leave a comment, send us a tip about advance care planning in the news, share what you read here with your friends.

Get people excited about what you really like. Then your click on the ‘like’ button becomes much more valuable.”

The like means continued engagement. That is simply going to provide more value for the long term. However, if you are looking for quick gratification and hopefully a quick conversion, the click is certainly valuable, and enough clicks over likes can make a significant impact.

“Both clicks and Likes can be valuable; it really depends on what kind of results you are trying to achieve with your campaign,” says O’Shaughnessy. “For example, Likes are much more important to a campaign that is working to create a targeted fan base; in campaigns where a brand is trying to drive people to take a specific action either on a specific landing pages or on a Facebook tab, clicks are important. For example on a campaign promoting new products or events, clicks would be more valuable because they are driving the action that is valuable to the brand.”

“The age and gender research we conducted is an example of how SocialCode’s advanced knowledge of the Facebook platform will give brands the best insight into which types of campaigns are more likely to drive actions within specific age groups and genders,” she says.

So, the short answer to which is more valuable is: it depends. Establish the goals you are hoping to achieve with your campaign, and place your efforts accordingly. If a click is your primary goal, consider test different ad copy and landing pages (which luckily could help you improve your likes anyway).

Source : http://www.webpronews.com/facebook-ads-likes-clicks-2011-09#comments

Google Plus Demo

2011-09-01T10:06:00.000-07:00

Google have released a demo on their new Google Plus website.

http://www.google.com/+/demo/

Will this beat Facebook - we will have to wait and see.

Groupon is it worth the bargin for your business ?

2011-08-18T10:58:00.000-07:00

People love Groupon - but do businesses.

It’s easily the most effective way to get hundreds or even thousands of people through the door of a business with one day’s advertising. The problem is that the cost of sale doesn’t really add up for the business owner.

Here is an example :

Generally a beauty salon only needs to convert about 10% of Groupon buyers into regular clients for it to make financial sense but based on data we’re only seeing conversion rates of about 1%. Think about that for a second. A salon with three staff sells a thousand deals and only ten of these come back again and pay normal prices.

That’s over a thousand man hours (at least two months) of loss-making treatments to gain seven new clients.

Groupon have been cold calling some of our clients - so be aware not everything is always what it seems, check your market. If it seems to good to be true - you know the rest !

500,000 (Google) Android Phones activated every day

2011-08-16T10:19:00.001-07:00

Internet giant Google will buy US smartphone maker Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion in cash, giving a boost to its Android mobile operating system, the companies said today.

The firms have entered into a definitive agreement under which Google will buy Motorola Mobility for $40 a share, a 63% premium over the closing price of Motorola Mobility shares on Friday, they said in a statement.

The statements also said their boards of directors had unanimously approved the deal.

Mororola Mobility manufactures smartphones and tablets while it also makes wireless accessories and video and data delivery products. It was separated from the rest of Motorola in January. The company has remade itself as a maker of smartphones based on Android, but has struggled against Apple and Asian smartphone makers.

Google's chief executive Larry Page says that the deal with 'supercharge the entire Android ecosystem.'

The deal gives Google direct control over the maker of many of its Android phones.
Motorola was split into two companies earlier this year. The other company, Motorola Solutions, provides communications products and services to businesses and governments.

Source : RTE News 15th August 2011

Google + Fastest growing site of all time ?

2011-08-03T23:58:00.000-07:00

Google+ now has 25 million users, according to analytics firm comScore. That’s very impressive, especially considering that the site is working off an invitation-only model for expansion.

In a Reuters report, comScore said that number cements the new network as the fastest-growing Web site in history. Google launched its network in late June and is currently growing at a rate of one million users per day, the report said.

So does that mean that Google+ is going to take over the social networking sector? Don’t jump to conclusions so quickly.

For one thing, Google+ has the advantage of being the newest kid on the block at a time when users are increasingly willing to join social networks. Google has a huge userbase to build from and — as my Post colleague Ezra Klein pointed out — gives this plugged-in generation the chance to make a digital fresh start.

The report points out that Facebook hit 25 million users in three years, while Twitter took just 30 months.

Early growth doesn’t necessarily mean lasting success. MySpace only took two years to hit 25 million users. Now the network has been sold by News Corp. for far less than its asking price and is looking to the star power of Justin Timberlake to revive its flagging numbers.

And, really, you need to look no further than Google’s own past to see a social network that fell as fast as it rose — Google’s Buzz was the hot invitation-only ticket until privacy concerns and a lack of interest knocked it flat.

Source : Washington Post

10,000,000 + and counting

2011-07-26T23:54:00.000-07:00

The founder of Ancestry.com, Paul Allen, estimates that Google+ may already have reached 10m users, despite only having been launched a fortnight ago.

The data analysis was based on surname popularity. Allen says that if he takes a sample of 100-200 surnames, he can accurately estimate total usage numbers. The surname popularity data is taken from the US Census Bureau, so this would give him US figures, but he believes that he can then calculate worldwide usage via a ratio of US to non-US users.

Google itself has released no user numbers as yet, although it is said that demand has so far been high with some users reported to have tens of thousands of people following them

Overall, Google+ has gone down well, but as with any new product, there is criticism. Google’s senior vice-president of social, Vic Gondotra, said:

“Lots of criticism for Google+. We are listening and working to address. Stay tuned for changes this week.”

10m users in a fortnight would represent a hugely impressive start, but with Twitter boasting 300m users and Facebook 750m, there is plenty of room for improvement as it seeks to gain ground on its rivals

The facts speak for themselves

2011-07-25T09:00:00.000-07:00

More and more the consumer looks to the Internet to provide information on the products and services they want and need. However, as a recent study has shown, while 66% of consumers search the Internet for local small business information, only 44% of small businesses have a web site. The end result is that the small local business without a website is virtually invisible to these local consumers.

“According to the Nielsen Online Custom Survey from WebVisible, Inc.,” stated Dale Stefancic, co-owner of Entrepreneurs On Call, “92% of consumers have first researched a product on the Internet, and then have purchased that product locally at least once. The end result is that the business that has a website is much more likely to end up with that consumer in their local store. The Internet no longer serves the global marketplace exclusively but now impacts directly the sales of the smalllocal business. Without a website to direct and inform the local customer, a small local business will soon no longer stand any chance of real local success.”

This creates a real quandary for the small local business, as the design of even the most basic of websites can run into thousands of dollars. In today’s economy, a website is not economically feasible for some. Small businesses have a tendency to spend money on more traditional forms of advertising such as newspaper, Yellow Page ads and television. However, the same study shows that 50% of consumers turn to the Internet first, followed by only 24% for Yellow Pages, 4% for local newspapers and 1% for television.

Source : prudent.com

Please feel free to contact us at any stage in helping you get online.

Google Panda Hurricane

2011-07-13T23:21:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, February 23, 2011, a category 5 hurricane named "Panda" swept through the Gulf of Google devastating businesses large and small alike. The hurricane was reportedly named after one of Google's engineers.

So what was the reason for this catastrophic and "game-changing" update? Well, according to Google:

"This update is designed to reduce rankings for low-quality sites - sites which are low-value, copy content from other websites or sites that are just not very useful. At the same time, it will provide better rankings for high-quality sites - sites with original content and information such as research, in-depth reports, thoughtful analysis and so on. It is important for high-quality sites to be rewarded, and that's exactly what this change does." (Source: Google Blog)

So make sure you use original content on your website regarding your services and products and dont copy and paste from other sites as you may be penialised.

Remember CONTENT IS KING.

Google Vs Facebook - who will win ?

2011-06-30T23:14:00.000-07:00

Google has finally unveiled Google+, the company’s top secret social layer that turns all of the search engine into one giant social network.

Google+, which begins rolling out a very limited field test on Tuesday, is the culmination of a year-long project led by Vic Gundotra, Google’s senior vice president of social. The project, which has been delayed several times, constitutes Google’s answer to Facebook.

The search giant’s new social project will be omnipresent on its products, thanks to a complete redesign of the navigation bar. The familiar gray strip at the top of every Google page will turn black, and come with several new options for accessing your Google+ profile, viewing notifications and instantly sharing content. The notification system is similar to how Facebook handles notifications, complete with a red number that increases with each additional notice.

At its core, Google+ is a social network. The first thing users are introduced to is the Stream. It’s much like the Facebook News Feed, allowing users to share photos, videos, links or their location with friends

Source : http://mashable.com/2011/06/28/google-plus/

New Domain Names are coming

2011-06-20T01:03:00.000-07:00

The Internet's global co-ordinator today voted to allow the creation of website addresses ending in company names, enabling big firms to replace '.com' with their own brand.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) voted overwhelmingly in favour of the radical proposal at a meeting in Singapore despite fears that opening up new website suffixes could cause some confusion.

'This is the biggest change to domain names since the creation of '.com' 26 years ago,' said Theo Hnarakis, chief executive of Melbourne IT Digital Brand Services, a California-based company that provides online branding advice.

Under the changes, businesses will no longer be restricted to the list of generic top level domains (gTLDs) that include .com, .net and .org when they apply to register a website address.

Industry observers say global giants such as Apple, Toyota and BMW, to cite examples from various regions, could be in the vanguard of launching websites with their own domain names ending in '.apple', .'toyota' and .'bmw'.

Hnarakis said the companies that will benefit most are 'big brands with a clear marketing and customer education strategy to exploit the name for competitive advantage'.

'Brands need to act now if they want to apply for one of these new domain names as it is not as simple as registering a .com address. It is a complex task that needs thought and investment,' he added.

The ICANN board voted 13-1 in favour of the change, with two abstentions, a spokesman said.

ICANN, a non-profit body managing the Domain Name System and Internet Protocol addresses that form the technical backbone of the web, is holding a global meeting in Singapore this week to discuss a range of matters.

ICANN communications manager Michele Jourdan said corporations will now have 'new possibilities for structuring their online and offline presence'.

But it will not come cheap. It will cost a company $185,000 just to apply and there are a number of criteria that must be met before ICANN will give the nod for a firm to own the domain name of its choice.

The fee is needed to recoup the costs associated with the new gTLD programme and to ensure that it is fully funded, ICANN said. It would also weed out opportunistic applicants seeking to resell domain names for a profit after buying them cheaply, a problem in the earlier days of the Internet.

RTE NEWS 21st June 2011

Where should I host my website

2011-06-07T23:11:00.000-07:00

This something that is ealily overlooked by many site owners and the importance of the Domain Name "Country Code" to your website rankings, traffic and consequent success.

The problem here is the "location" of search - the way in which the major search engines have split their indexes up into country-specific search opportunities. Google (and other SE's) know where you are, or where you should be associated with, by either the Country Code (.ie) or the IP address allocated to your site. IP addresses are allocated in numeric blocks or ranges, by country.

ALl website we create and host are all hosted on Irish servers to help benefit your SEO for your website. Please feel free to contact us at any stage to help you.

How to promote your website

2011-06-03T01:28:00.000-07:00

You have a website and it is indexed in the search engines but yet you are not getting the response you had hoped for.

Some important key factors you should consider in promoting your website.

1 -Include Your website on ALL Stationery, Cards, and Literature. Make sure that all business cards, stationery, brochures, and literature contain your company's URL. And see that your printer gets the URL syntax correct.

2 - Promote using traditional media. Don't discontinue print advertising that you've found effective. But be sure to include your URL in any display or classified ads you purchase in trade journals, newspapers, yellow pages, etc. View your website as an information adjunct to the ad. Use a two-step approach: (1) capture readers' attention with the ad, (2) then refer them to a URL where they can obtain more information and perhaps place an order. Look carefully at small display or classified ads in the back of narrowly-targeted magazines or trade periodicals. Sometimes these ads are more targeted, more effective, and less expensive than online advertising.

3 - Develop a Dangling Carrot (eg. Free Service). It's boring to invite people, "Come to our website and learn about our business." It's quite another to say "Pre book today on-line and receive a 5% discount." Make no mistake, it's expensive in time and energy to develop free resources, but it is very rewarding in increased traffic to your site -- and a motivation to link to the site! Make sure that your free service is closely related to what you are selling so the visitors you attract will be good prospects for your business. Give visitors multiple opportunities and links to cross over to the sales portion of your site.

Even with these three simple steps - this can convert traffic to you site into sales. Don't rely on search engines to all the work for you, after all kit is your business and you need to grow it not ignore it.

At his.ie we provide SEO Packages to suit your requirements. These packages range from basic SEO to advanced PPC SEO Campaigns.
Our SEO Packages includes :

White Hat SEO
AWStats
Google Analytics
Google Trends
Google Map Location
Site map XML
Site map Pages
404 Redirect
301 Redirect Pages / Domains
Robots TXT files
Meta Tag Title
Meta Tag Description
Alt Image Text
Social Networking Integration
URL Submissions
Keyword Inclusion
Basic SEO Packages range from €20* per month
Intermediate SEO Packages range from €99* per month (includes LITE PPC Marketing)
Advanced SEO Packages range from €250* per month (includes PPC Marketing)

Please feel free to contact us at any stage.
* Prices Exclude VAT

You need to be on the first page of Google

2011-05-18T23:33:00.000-07:00

Nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, Google is far and away the most popular search engine on the planet. No sane person would dispute that. But Google only has ten spots available on the first page. So, not only is it unrealistic, it's impossible for everyboody to achieve first page status.

But even if it were possible for everybody to achieve first page status, you shouldn't put all of your eggs in Google's basket anyway. You've seen what can happen when Google has one of its many algorithm changes. First page today, not even indexed tomorrow. That's why you should strive to have a multi-pronged marketing approach. There are a variety of methods to generate traffic.

For example, blogging, newsletters, social networking, article marketing, forum marketing, online and offline advertising, guest blogging, question and answer sites, etc. The list goes on....

For more information please contact us today.

Should I Invest in my website

2011-05-18T23:30:00.000-07:00

Companies that expect to advertise on TV, radio, in newspapers, magazines, or any other media knowa that this cost money ? Yet, for some strange reason, some businesses think they can just come online and not spend any money, and advertise their business for free. This shows an utter lack of respect for the single most important communication medium since television.

And while it's true, there are plenty of free advertising opportunities available on the Internet, the fact remains, you still need money to effectively do business on the Internet.

Contrary to popular belief, the Internet is not some kind of magic bullet. Besides, it's not the medium that makes people successful, it's the individuals themselves. And the people who succeed at the highest level online or offline are generally talented, hard working, organized, focused and determined.

If you wish for further information on helping your website meet the right target audience please contact us today.

Dean Karnazes Run Across America Finale

2011-05-11T12:23:00.000-07:00

I know its not web related but you got to follow your dreams !!

Broadband for everyone

2011-05-09T00:01:00.000-07:00

An initiative aimed at making broadband access available to every home and business in the country by the end of next year is being announced today.

The Minister for Communications has said he will be taking measures to speed up the roll out of next generation, high speed, internet access.

The Government claims a mix of private and public investment has resulted in broadband internet access coverage to 99% of the country.

However, the remaining 1% will be the focus of the scheme being announced this morning.

There is a National Broadband Scheme but un-served locations, which are extremely remote or cannot be served for technical reasons, will be targeted and a service provider identified by the Government.

Minister Pat Rabbitte says his Department will accept applications for a three month period starting today, people who cannot obtain a broadband service are being encouraged to make contact.

The Rural Broadband Scheme will the Government says help promote economic and social development in rural areas.

Mr Rabbitte says the scheme will ensure broadband is available to anyone who wants it by the end of 2012.

Posted on RTE.ie 07th May 2011

Google Maps on Websites

2011-05-03T15:22:00.000-07:00

At his.ie we work to get your Google Maps Location for your business beside the map for searches that will bring you new customers and increase your website presence. Proper search engine optimisation of your business website and your Google Maps Location will help get your business beside the map on high ranking pages.

Please feel free to contact us today for further information

Does Blogging help SEO for my Website

2011-04-13T13:32:00.000-07:00

A blog is a great thing to have if you’re focused on SEO.

A blog can be used to help a main website rank better in search engines simply due to increasing inbound links.

Secondly, blogging get picked up in search engines very very quickly.

Thirdly, a blog provides users with excellent publishing tools to write and format content in a search engine friendly way.

All in all, if you have a website, it would be an excellent idea to also have a blog, covering a relevant topic to your main site. Doing so could be the difference of your site landing on page one, or page doesn’t matter.

Plus using blogging systems like google blogger, wordpress etc.. use strict XHTML systems that rate very highly in search engines.

Finally a blog is very easy too add into your existing website without changing the layout website design.

For further information please contact us today !!

Website Design Ireland

2011-04-13T13:19:00.000-07:00

Get your business noticed!!

With all the depressing media out there in times like these, there are many success stories with businesses on line that we have helped to evolve.

If you are an exsisting business or a new venture now is the time to get your company website design premise out there. Over 60% of your customers today will look for you online before picking up any other form of advertising.

We will help you invest in your business for the future in terms of website design, website development and search engine optimisation. We offer this service at very reasonable prices from small budgets too full blow CMS websites to cater for your customers.

Online Advertising up 13.5%

2011-04-12T23:50:00.001-07:00

A new survey out today shows substantial growth in online advertising. The survey, carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers, reveals there was a 13.5% increase in adspend last year. The figure beat industry expectations

The survey valued the Irish online market for last year at €110m, up from €97m in 2009.
Ads for cars is the top performing category and there are now 2 million people online in this area, up from 1.8 million. The survey also says there are more broadband connections and more time is being spent online.

'The growth in the Irish online audience and in their time spent consuming online media while other media are experiencing fragmenting audiences underlines the phenomenon of online's growing share of media budgets,' commented PricewaterhouseCooper's Bartley O'Connor.

RTE News April 13th 2011

Interesting Google facts

2011-04-09T00:13:00.001-07:00

Below are some interesting / funny Google facts :

1. Google receives daily search requests from all over the world, including Antarctica.

2. Google’s Home Page Has 63 Validation Errors. Don’t believe me?: Check Google Validation

3. The Google search engine receives about a billion search requests per day.

4. The infamous “I’m feeling lucky” button is nearly never used. However, in trials it was found that removing it would somehow reduce the Google experience. Users wanted it kept. It was a comfort button.

5. Due to the sparseness of the homepage, in early user tests they noted people just sitting looking at the screen. After a minute of nothingness, the tester intervened and asked ‘Whats up?’ to which they replied “We are waiting for the rest of it”. To solve that particular problem the Google Copyright message was inserted to act as a crude end of page marker.

6. The name ‘Google’ was an accident. A spelling mistake made by the original founders who thought they were going for ‘Googol’.

7. Google has the largest network of translators in the world.

8. Employees are encouraged to use 20% of their time working on their own projects. Google News, Orkut are both examples of projects that grew from this working model.

9. Google consists of over 450,000 servers, racked up in clusters located in data centers around the world.

10. Google started in January, 1996 as a research project at Stanford University, by Ph.D. candidates Larry Page and Sergey Brin when they were 24 years old and 23 years old respectively.

11. Google is a mathematical term 1 followed by one hundred zeroes. The term was coined by Milton Sirotta, nephew of American mathematician Edward Kasne.

12. Number of languages in which you can have the Google home page set up, including Urdu, Latin and Klingon: 88

13. Google translates billions of HTML web pages into a display format for WAP and i-mode phones and wireless handheld devices.

How can I collect my potential customers emails ?

2011-03-23T01:00:00.000-07:00

A common question we receive is on how do you collect your potential customers emails so you can send them information / specials. We can easily provide a Newsletter / Sign up Plug-in option on your website which will allow you to collect emails and store them on a database.

From here you can create a Newsletter within your system to notify your potential customers of promotions / offers you may have.

Feel free to contact us today for further information on 01 8325789 / 086 386 85 34 or info@his.ie

Irish winner for Doodle 4 Google

2011-03-10T00:13:00.000-08:00

Karpuz from Mary, Mother of Hope Junior National School in County Dublin won a Google competition when her doodle, was voted to appear on www.google.ie for 24 hours today, Wednesday, 9 March 2011.

The competition was open to all Irish primary school students and the theme for this year's Doodle 4 Google was 'To me, happiness is...'.

There was a limit of six entries per school and entry forms were available online, before being completed and posted into the Dublin offices of the company.

We say well done !!

How can I check my email when I am away

2011-03-06T23:41:00.000-08:00

Here is a great site below that you can view your email anywhere in the world :

http://mail2web.com/

All you need is your username (your email address) and password and you can view and reply to your recipients.

Google says Keep it Unique to get Higher Ranking

2011-02-27T04:33:00.000-08:00

As of yesterday Google now awards website with fresh and unique content.

On their offical blog it is quoted :

Our goal is simple: to give people the most relevant answers to their queries as quickly as possible. This requires constant tuning of our algorithms, as new content—both good and bad—comes online all the time.

Many of the changes we make are so subtle that very few people notice them. But in the last day or so we launched a pretty big algorithmic improvement to our ranking—a change that noticeably impacts 11.8% of our queries—and we wanted to let people know what’s going on. This update is designed to reduce rankings for low-quality sites—sites which are low-value add for users, copy content from other websites or sites that are just not very useful. At the same time, it will provide better rankings for high-quality sites—sites with original content and information such as research, in-depth reports, thoughtful analysis and so on.

We can’t make a major improvement without affecting rankings for many sites. It has to be that some sites will go up and some will go down. Google depends on the high-quality content created by wonderful websites around the world, and we do have a responsibility to encourage a healthy web ecosystem. Therefore, it is important for high-quality sites to be rewarded, and that’s exactly what this change does.

So keep your content new and Google will rank your website higher !

I saw a great picture on a website - can I use it on mine ??

2011-02-07T23:44:00.000-08:00

This is a common question we get asked - and the simple answer is no.

All images that you provide on your website must be either owned / purchased by yourself or you have permission to use. Copyright laws are very strict throughout the world so we always recommend that you use your own images or purchase them through web sites such as www.istockphoto.com

Once you adhere to these rules you will never be liable if any third party ever questions you to where you sourced your images from. A licenced image that you use on your website that you use without permission could cost your comapny €3500 upwards ! Dont slip up.. an average image will only cost you less than an Euro.

If you are unsure, please feel free to contact us.

Microsoft IE Bug that affects 900 million users

2011-02-02T01:35:00.000-08:00

Microsoft has announced that all current versions of Internet Explorer are currently at risk of being hacked due to a flaw in the programme.

It is now known that the web browser, used by 900 million people across the globe, requires a software patch in order to defend against attack while Microsoft prepares a longer term fix, a massive security slip up by the firm.

A security advisory announcement was made on Friday highlighting scripting vulnerabilities affecting all versions of Windows.

It is not however thought that there has been any breaches of security so far: “The main impact of the vulnerability is unintended information disclosure,” said Angela Gunn, a Microsoft representative.

“We're aware of published information and proof-of-concept code that attempts to exploit this vulnerability, but we haven't seen any indications of active exploitation.”

The fault lies in the MHTML protocol handler, which is used by applications to render certain kinds of document.

According to the statement an attacker could, for example, construct an HTML link designed to trigger a malicious script and then persuade the targeted user to click on it.

Once this happens the script would then be able to run on the machine for the rest of that IE browser session, potentially collecting information from emails, sending the user to fake sites and generally interfering with the browser usage.

“The workaround we are recommending customers apply locks down the MHTML protocol and effectively addresses the issue on the client system where it exists. We are providing a Microsoft Fix-it package to further automate installation,” Gunn said.

“We're also in communication with other service providers to explain how the issue might affect third-party Web sites and to collaborate on developing a variety of further solutions that address the varied needs of all parts of the Internet ecosystem - large sites, small sites, and all those who visit them.”

People are advised to return to the Microsoft Security Response Centre to check for any update on the situation. The fix can be found here

Posted on http://www.techeye.net/

Internet Sales continue to GROW

2011-01-20T00:32:00.000-08:00

Article Posted on RTE.ie in Business

Online auction house eBay last night reported better than expected earnings, driven by the success of its online financial transactions service PayPal.

EBay said its revenues for the quarter ending December 31 was slightly less than $2.5 billion and its net profit was $559.2m.

'We delivered a strong fourth quarter and a solid year,' said eBay chief executive John Donohoe. 'We are driving strong local growth at PayPal and strengthening our core eBay business,' he added.

PayPal ended the quarter with 94.4 million registered user accounts and handled a total of $26.9 billion in payments during the period, according to eBay. Nearly half of that PayPal revenue came from outside the US.

The company saw revenue rise in its online auction Marketplaces during the year-end holiday shopping season. EBay finished the year with a net profit of $1.8 billion on $9.16 billion in revenue.

The company is adapting its service to changes in how people shop, focusing on the trend of using smartphones to locate bargains or stores and to even pay for things, Donohoe said.

'Mobile is increasing the number of Internet-enabled transactions, and in the process it is rapidly blurring the line between online and offline,' Donohoe said. 'We are trying to make sure we are aggressively capitalising on that as a company,' he added.

EBay sees PayPal as a reassuring option for shoppers reluctant to enter credit card or other sensitive financial data into mobile phones.

Along with building up its mobile platform, eBay will continue to beef up its tools to help shoppers easily find things they want.

Donohoe said the firm's strategy will build on recent acquisitions of US Internet startup Milo, mobile gadget application maker Critical Path Software and brands4friends, Germany's largest online fashion shopping club.

Milo is a website that connects shoppers with real-world shops that have what they seek and then lets them compare prices with those in online stores.

EBay announced in December that it bought Critical Path Software as it follows buyers and sellers onto smartphones and other devices.

Acquisitions for eBay in the final three months of 2010 included the $200m purchase of Berlin-based brands4friends, which was founded in 2007 and boasted 3.5 million members in Germany. It sells goods from well-known fashion and lifestyle brands at reduced prices to members through daily offers.

As part of the deal, eBay will assume brands4friends's equity interests in British shopping club SecretSales.com and in its Japan arm, brands4friends.jp. The acquisition, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close in the first quarter of this year.

E Retailers SHOUT let it snow more

2011-01-02T15:48:00.000-08:00

Retailers with E Commerce stores are feeling the benefit of the bad weather :

Snow Helps Ecommerce End Holidays Strong
Web metrics firm comScore reports that online retailers posted record sales this year, offering cautious hope that the ecommerce sector is well on the road to recovery.

The recent blizzard may have been a pain for thousands of stranded travelers up and down the East Coast, but with millions of Americans homebound in the days following Christmas, online retailers saw sales blossom.

Over the past week, online retailers saw sales spike 17 percent over the same period last year, enough to lift the segment to nearly $31 billion for the holiday season, a record total, according to Web metrics firm comScore. Which segments fared the best? ECommerce Guide takes a look at the latest online holiday shopping totals.

Thanks in part to a major snowstorm that kept many Americans on the East Coast homebound in the days following Christmas, Internet retailers posted another strong week of sales, vaulting this year's online holiday shopping season to a new record.

The steady spending that continued through the holiday week has lifted online sales since the beginning of November to $30.81 billion, a 13 percent increase over the same period last year, according to new figures from online metrics firm comScore.

So even with the snow now gone it is still vital to promote your company and produts on line. Contact us today too see how we can help you reach your new potential audiene today.

Mery Christmas !!

2010-12-21T00:22:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post to say Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone out there.

Due to adverse weather conditions we cannot travel but please feel free to contact us at any stage as thankfully we can provide our service on-line. We will re-open on January 4th 2011.

CMS Overview

2010-12-08T10:10:00.000-08:00

Earlier this week we explained that we now implement TinyMce into our content management systems to make it far easier for our clients to upload new material to their websites on the fly.

Below is a video from YouTube showing TinyMce in action.

Please feel free to contact us for any further information on 01 8325789.

Content is King

2010-12-06T10:27:00.000-08:00

With CMS (Content Management Systems) becoming so popular with websites where our clients can log in and update their website content on the fly. We have adapted the same open source scripting that Wordpress uses - TinyMce.

With this system implemented our clients can create new pages, new content, pictures, blogs, etc.., the only limitation is your imagination.

We will have a video of this in action on our website in the coming weeks. If you would like to view a demonstration in the meantime of this new fantastic system please contact us today on 01 8325789.

I have my new website and I want to email everybody about it !!

2010-12-05T12:55:00.000-08:00

Here are the Irish Laws on SPAM

New rules to deal with unsolicited commercial e-mail, cookies and other privacy issues in electronic communications were brought into effect in Ireland this week. The new law implements the European Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive which was due to be implemented throughout the EU by 31st October.

The European Communities (Electronic Communications Networks and Services) (Data Protection and Privacy) Regulations 2003 were signed by the Irish Minister for Communications, Dermot Ahern, on Monday. The UK has passed similar regulations but they are not due to come into effect until 11th December.

The Irish Department for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources has identified a number of the main features of the Irish regulations which include:

Regulation of the use of cookies and spyware.

Restrictions on unsolicited direct marketing by telephone, fax, automated calling systems, email, SMS and MMS ('spam').

A right for subscribers listed in publicly available directories to determine what personal data is included.

A requirement that before including a subscriber in a public directory they are told the purpose of the directory and how their personal data can subsequently be used or accessed.

Provision for the processing of an individual's mobile location data, with the individual's consent, in order to provide new value added services.

Provisions for enforcement of regulatory decisions by Comreg and the Data Protection Commissioner, including investigatory powers in relation to suspected breaches of the new regulations.

Critics have already pointed out that the new regulations will have little effect on spam, as much of this comes from countries outside the EU. However, Mr Aherne has said that he hopes to use Ireland's EU presidency (which begins in January of next year) to build a "global partnership" which will taget spam on a worldwide basis.

A copy of the regulations can be found here

Does Blogging increase traffic to my website ?

2010-12-05T00:31:00.000-08:00

Simply put yes. With blogging you can keep your customers / potential clients up to date with latest news, events, products, etc.. Creating blogs is very easy and quick to set up and search engines (e.g. Google, Yahoo, Bing) pick up the current content quickly.

This blog you are currently viewing is a FREE open source blogging system created by Google, that is very easy to add, edit live posts and many different themes from which you can create a functional front end.

Please feel free to contact us today to help you create your own business blog to help increase you potential.

My Web Designer has gone AWOL !!!!

2010-11-24T15:10:00.000-08:00

Now that you have your website up and running for a while, the most common story we hear hear that is if you have an update, question or problem (not if but WHEN) and look for help from your current website designer their phone seems to be a gone into hibernation or they have disappeared.

Thankfully at his.ie we have our own dedicated support system that helps all our clients (and potential ) within 24 hours of a query they may have. So when you buy from us not only do you get a great website but you also avail of our top end service as well.

Don't take our word for it we have plenty of happy clients over 6 years that can confirm this. So please contact us today or visit our support centre for any further queries you may have.

150,000 registered .ie domains, why ie ?

2010-11-23T11:29:00.000-08:00

In November 2010 the IEDR celebrated the 150,000th .ie domain registered on world’s second safest domain. They have released a new website called www.why.ie explaining the benefits of acquiring a .ie for your business.

In this blog article you will find information about why registering a .ie will work for you and your business and also what steps you can take to offer a better online experience for your customers. Remember your .ie allows your customers to transact online, confident that the website has a guaranteed Irish connection and that you a registered business / company with the CRO (Companies Registration Office).

Why register your .ie

Shows your potential customer a safe environment to browse or shop
You have taken the time to register your business with the CRO
Higher Search Engine Ranking in Google, Yahoo, Bing etc..
It is the second safest domain extension in the world
From only €39.99 ex VAT, it is now very affordable to purchase your new domain from his.ie (We are PayPal Verified). Visit this link to register today
On-line Security - .ie is a safe and secure platform, make sure that your website is the same.

At his.ie we can secure your domain name that you may require. Visit this link to register

Widen your business

2010-11-10T07:59:00.000-08:00

With youtube.com you can now advertise your business quickley and easily to potential customers - call us today and see how his.ie can help you generate new customers to your website.

Website / SEO Cold Calling

2010-11-04T16:13:00.000-07:00

Due to some of our clients concerns about companies cold calling them from "GOOGLE" and other companies promising first page placement on search engines for their website for a "one off fee" of €400 upwards we have repeated our previous blog article below :

We would recommend don't hire anyone who contacts you first through cold calling / email (SPAM). SEO is very much in high demand these days. The best and most trusted companies don't need to spam you with offers of free web site analyses or first page placements. Google don`t cold call at any stage - a lot of people / businesses have been misled to believe that Google has contacted them directly only to have spend a lot of money on false promises. If ever you are unsure trust your gut feeling and put the phone down / delete the email.

Here is a snippet from www.google.com regarding SEO "Experts":

While SEOs can provide clients with valuable services, some unethical SEOs have given the industry a black eye through their overly aggressive marketing efforts and their attempts to manipulate search engine results in unfair ways. Practices that violate our guidelines may result in a negative adjustment of your site's presence in Google, or even the removal of your site from our index. Here are some things to consider:

* Be wary of SEO firms and web consultants or agencies that send you email out of the blue.

Amazingly, we get these spam emails too:

"Dear google.com,
I visited your website and noticed that you are not listed in most of the major search engines and directories..."
Reserve the same skepticism for unsolicited email about search engines as you do for "burn fat at night" diet pills or requests to help transfer funds from deposed dictators.

* No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google.
Beware of SEOs that claim to guarantee rankings, allege a "special relationship" with Google, or advertise a "priority submit" to Google. There is no priority submit for Google. In fact, the only way to submit a site to Google directly is through our Add URL page or by submitting a Sitemap and you can do this yourself at no cost whatsoever.

* Be careful if a company is secretive or won't clearly explain what they intend to do.
Ask for explanations if something is unclear. If an SEO creates deceptive or misleading content on your behalf, such as doorway pages or "throwaway" domains, your site could be removed entirely from Google's index. Ultimately, you are responsible for the actions of any companies you hire, so it's best to be sure you know exactly how they intend to "help" you. If an SEO has FTP access to your server, they should be willing to explain all the changes they are making to your site.

* You should never have to link to an SEO.
Avoid SEOs that talk about the power of "free-for-all" links, link popularity schemes, or submitting your site to thousands of search engines. These are typically useless exercises that don't affect your ranking in the results of the major search engines -- at least, not in a way you would likely consider to be positive.

* Choose wisely.
While you consider whether to go with an SEO, you may want to do some research on the industry. Google is one way to do that, of course. You might also seek out a few of the cautionary tales that have appeared in the press, including this article on one particularly aggressive SEO: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2002002970_nwbizbriefs12.html. While Google doesn't comment on specific companies, we've encountered firms calling themselves SEOs who follow practices that are clearly beyond the pale of accepted business behavior. Be careful.

* Be sure to understand where the money goes.
While Google never sells better ranking in our search results, several other search engines combine pay-per-click or pay-for-inclusion results with their regular web search results. Some SEOs will promise to rank you highly in search engines, but place you in the advertising section rather than in the search results. A few SEOs will even change their bid prices in real time to create the illusion that they "control" other search engines and can place themselves in the slot of their choice. This scam doesn't work with Google because our advertising is clearly labeled and separated from our search results, but be sure to ask any SEO you're considering which fees go toward permanent inclusion and which apply toward temporary advertising.

* What are the most common abuses a website owner is likely to encounter?
One common scam is the creation of "shadow" domains that funnel users to a site by using deceptive redirects. These shadow domains often will be owned by the SEO who claims to be working on a client's behalf. However, if the relationship sours, the SEO may point the domain to a different site, or even to a competitor's domain. If that happens, the client has paid to develop a competing site owned entirely by the SEO.

Another illicit practice is to place "doorway" pages loaded with keywords on the client's site somewhere. The SEO promises this will make the page more relevant for more queries. This is inherently false since individual pages are rarely relevant for a wide range of keywords. More insidious, however, is that these doorway pages often contain hidden links to the SEO's other clients as well. Such doorway pages drain away the link popularity of a site and route it to the SEO and its other clients, which may include sites with unsavory or illegal content.

* What are some other things to look out for?
There are a few warning signs that you may be dealing with a rogue SEO. It's far from a comprehensive list, so if you have any doubts, you should trust your instincts. By all means, feel free to walk away if the SEO:

o owns shadow domains
o puts links to their other clients on doorway pages
o offers to sell keywords in the address bar
o doesn't distinguish between actual search results and ads that appear on search results pages
o guarantees ranking, but only on obscure, long keyword phrases you would get anyway
o operates with multiple aliases or falsified WHOIS info
o gets traffic from "fake" search engines, spyware, or scumware
o has had domains removed from Google's index or is not itself listed in Google

We have helped numerous business with Search Engine Optimisation and can prove this through our clients. Over 90% of our work is referral basis, this alone is a testament by itself. Please feel free to contact us at any stage

SEO HELP!!

2010-11-04T16:06:00.000-07:00

Deep down we all know that SEO can be complicated. It involves lots of different variables and is a continual process of adjustments and building metatags, descriptions, keywords, content etc... over time for your website . It requires experience, deliberate decision-making and a fine mixture of art, science, and research.

In addition, proper SEO is not cheap and, perhaps the worse part, it's hard to know if an SEO provider is actually doing their job.

The good news is with the right provider, SEO can be possibly the most powerful marketing venue for your business. It can drive viable customers and gain online exposure that can't be attained through any other marketing outlet including radio, tv, newspaper.

Here at his.ie we can help you gain this extra exposure, so contact us today for further details on how we can help your business grow. We can show you positive results we have achieved for our clients at affordable prices.

Keep your customers up to date

2010-10-19T05:46:00.000-07:00

Setting up a blog on your website is quick and easy and you can keep your customers up to date on offers you may have.

You can also update your blog from your mobile phone anywhere day or night as we have just done.

Sent from my iPhone
Eric
www.his.ie

On-Line Shopping for your Business

2010-10-19T00:19:00.000-07:00

According to Google Internet Stats 80% of Internet users are now accessing online retail sites to purchase items, and that 70% of these will purchase over the 2010 Christmas period. If your company is considering an on-line sales presence now is the time. It is very affordable and taking payments on line is quick and 100% secure.

So please contact us today and we will be happy to have your shopping cart up and running within a matter of weeks for your potential customers.

Internet Register Ireland scam

2010-10-07T23:38:00.000-07:00

Letters like the one below that we received are doing the rounds at present, please be aware if you regsiter your details with this "company" you are in for a bill of €968. Unfortunately some companies has fallen for this scam so please be carefull. If ever unsure go with your gut feeling -dump it

Are people seeing my website ?

2010-10-01T06:44:00.000-07:00

Ever think "I have a website for my local business, but I haven't ever received a single phonecall or customer for my business, through my website"

Are you sure?

Ask yourself if you are the average off-line business owner who has built a website to promote an off-line business, chances are real good that you probably haven't ever received a single customer from your website.

However, if your website does not request for your prospective customers to let you know how they found out about your business, then chances are that people who did find you through your website wouldn't ever tell you that.

If more than one person answers the phone at your business, chances are just as good that someone may have mentioned finding you on a website, but no one conveyed that information to you. In your business, you should have systems in place to track and record where new customers have found your business.

Knowledge is power.

SEO and Local Businessess

2010-09-30T23:26:00.000-07:00

A common question we hear from potential clients we meet is they say "I rank number one in Google, and yet, I haven't any calls or emails from my website..."

When we first heard this story, we were very surprised... After all, if your SEO company did good keyword research, there is no reason why you should not be getting traffic and a few sales / calls from a top ranking in Google.

I pressed for more details... I learned that the company who built the website also did the search engine optimization.

It only took a couple of minutes to learn that the website design company optimized this fellows' website for the name of his company. There was no other optimization performed on that website.

It is rather pointless to optimize a website for the name of the company. The only consumers who will be searching for the name of your company are existing customers.

But, if your company is unknown to the general public, then the people who would like to buy your products or services will not be able to find you among your competitors.

If you service cars in Baldoyle, your future customers will be typing "car repairs baldoyle" into their favorite search engines, trying to find your business. And, if your prospective customers cannot find your business, your business does not exist in their minds.

If you have the same problem with your existing website contact us today on 01 8325 789 or 086 386 8534 and let us help.

Our new revamped website is now launched

2010-09-25T09:23:00.000-07:00

We're proud to announce the launch of our brand new website, complete with lots of information on Web Design in Ireland. Our new website features more specific services in Search Engine Optimization, Purchasing you Domain Name, FAQs, Blogs and how to take payments on line easily and securely.

Our make over is complete you can view it at www.his.ie.

Should You Hire A Search Engine Optimiser Who Cold Calls You?

2010-09-25T09:03:00.001-07:00

We would recommend don't hire anyone who contacts you first through cold calling / email (SPAM). SEO is very much in high demand these days. The best and most trusted companies don't need to spam you with offers of free web site analyses or first page placements. Google don`t cold call at any stage - a lot of people / businesses have been misled to believe that Google has contacted them directly only to have spend a lot of money on false promises. If ever you are unsure trust your gut feeling and put the phone down / delete the email.

Here is a snippet from www.google.com regarding SEO "Experts":

While SEOs can provide clients with valuable services, some unethical SEOs have given the industry a black eye through their overly aggressive marketing efforts and their attempts to manipulate search engine results in unfair ways. Practices that violate our guidelines may result in a negative adjustment of your site's presence in Google, or even the removal of your site from our index. Here are some things to consider:

* Be wary of SEO firms and web consultants or agencies that send you email out of the blue.

Amazingly, we get these spam emails too:

"Dear google.com,
I visited your website and noticed that you are not listed in most of the major search engines and directories..."
Reserve the same skepticism for unsolicited email about search engines as you do for "burn fat at night" diet pills or requests to help transfer funds from deposed dictators.

* No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google.
Beware of SEOs that claim to guarantee rankings, allege a "special relationship" with Google, or advertise a "priority submit" to Google. There is no priority submit for Google. In fact, the only way to submit a site to Google directly is through our Add URL page or by submitting a Sitemap and you can do this yourself at no cost whatsoever.

* Be careful if a company is secretive or won't clearly explain what they intend to do.
Ask for explanations if something is unclear. If an SEO creates deceptive or misleading content on your behalf, such as doorway pages or "throwaway" domains, your site could be removed entirely from Google's index. Ultimately, you are responsible for the actions of any companies you hire, so it's best to be sure you know exactly how they intend to "help" you. If an SEO has FTP access to your server, they should be willing to explain all the changes they are making to your site.

* You should never have to link to an SEO.
Avoid SEOs that talk about the power of "free-for-all" links, link popularity schemes, or submitting your site to thousands of search engines. These are typically useless exercises that don't affect your ranking in the results of the major search engines -- at least, not in a way you would likely consider to be positive.

* Choose wisely.
While you consider whether to go with an SEO, you may want to do some research on the industry. Google is one way to do that, of course. You might also seek out a few of the cautionary tales that have appeared in the press, including this article on one particularly aggressive SEO: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2002002970_nwbizbriefs12.html. While Google doesn't comment on specific companies, we've encountered firms calling themselves SEOs who follow practices that are clearly beyond the pale of accepted business behavior. Be careful.

* Be sure to understand where the money goes.
While Google never sells better ranking in our search results, several other search engines combine pay-per-click or pay-for-inclusion results with their regular web search results. Some SEOs will promise to rank you highly in search engines, but place you in the advertising section rather than in the search results. A few SEOs will even change their bid prices in real time to create the illusion that they "control" other search engines and can place themselves in the slot of their choice. This scam doesn't work with Google because our advertising is clearly labeled and separated from our search results, but be sure to ask any SEO you're considering which fees go toward permanent inclusion and which apply toward temporary advertising.

* What are the most common abuses a website owner is likely to encounter?
One common scam is the creation of "shadow" domains that funnel users to a site by using deceptive redirects. These shadow domains often will be owned by the SEO who claims to be working on a client's behalf. However, if the relationship sours, the SEO may point the domain to a different site, or even to a competitor's domain. If that happens, the client has paid to develop a competing site owned entirely by the SEO.

Another illicit practice is to place "doorway" pages loaded with keywords on the client's site somewhere. The SEO promises this will make the page more relevant for more queries. This is inherently false since individual pages are rarely relevant for a wide range of keywords. More insidious, however, is that these doorway pages often contain hidden links to the SEO's other clients as well. Such doorway pages drain away the link popularity of a site and route it to the SEO and its other clients, which may include sites with unsavory or illegal content.

* What are some other things to look out for?
There are a few warning signs that you may be dealing with a rogue SEO. It's far from a comprehensive list, so if you have any doubts, you should trust your instincts. By all means, feel free to walk away if the SEO:

o owns shadow domains
o puts links to their other clients on doorway pages
o offers to sell keywords in the address bar
o doesn't distinguish between actual search results and ads that appear on search results pages
o guarantees ranking, but only on obscure, long keyword phrases you would get anyway
o operates with multiple aliases or falsified WHOIS info
o gets traffic from "fake" search engines, spyware, or scumware
o has had domains removed from Google's index or is not itself listed in Google

We have helped numerous business with Search Engine Optimisation and can prove this through our clients. Over 90% of our work is referral basis, this alone is a testament by itself. Please feel free to contact us at any stage.