How Local SEO Can Help Your Business

Many small and medium sized business owners think that local SEO is something of a dark art cloaked in mystery, but really it isn’t all that difficult if you have a bit of time to spend. Most webmasters can do a lot of the work themselves without relying on the services of an SEO agency, but for those who do require a bit of expert guidance, we are always here to help. And for those of you who want to have a go, here are a few simple tips to get you on the right path.

Local SEO: Identify Your Target Audience

Different audiences require different approaches to content creation. For this reason, you need to spend a bit of time considering who you are marketing your website at. A more in-depth understanding of your target audience and their buying habits will help you make the right decision when identifying keywords and devising marketing strategies.

Keyword Research

Keywords are extremely important. Search engines use keywords to determine what your website is all about, so using relevant keywords will boost your rankings. The Google Keyword Planner is a useful tool. Use the planner to find out what people are searching for in your local area and pick the keywords that most accurately describe what your business is offering. Location based keywords – for example Chicago plumbers – are important, but be sure to include non-local keywords, too.

Create a Blog

Don’t underestimate the value of a blog. All small and medium sized businesses should have a blog. A blog ensures your website is regularly updated with fresh content, which is valuable from a search engine perspective. You can build keywords into your blog posts and link to other website pages, both of which are effective SEO techniques. Including share buttons on blog posts also encourages readers to ‘share’ them on social media, which is good for boosting traffic to the site.

Local Contact Information

All small and medium sized businesses should have contact information on their website. A contact email address is not enough – you need to include a geographical address and telephone number (in text form) on every page of your website. If you have more than one office, list the details of your main office on each web page and include a separate listing for branch offices. These details are crucial for local SEO but, sadly, many businesses overlook their importance.

Local Directory Listings

Directory listings have become devalued in recent years, but for small and medium sized businesses, good quality local directory listings are worth their weight in gold. Yahoo!, Yelp, Yellow Pages and other business directories will help your search engine ranking position, but make sure your listing information is exactly the same as that on your website. Even the smallest of discrepancies will hurt you. It is also worth creating a Google+ and Google Places account.

This is only a summary of how local SEO can help your business. If you would like to learn more, contact us today for more information.

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Best CRM Systems: Which Platform Gets You The Most Bang For Your Buck

Best CRM Systems: CRM (customer relationship management) software is a class of enterprise software that basically covers a wide range of applications as well as software that’s designed to assist companies in accessing important business data, managing both customer interaction and customer data as well as automating sales, customer support, marketing, and also managing vendor, partner, and help a business decipher between customer needs and wants.

CRM Software Today

CRM software is created to help companies meet the goals and demands of customer relationship management. CRM software today is highly customizable and scalable, which enables businesses to gain more clientele insights along with a back-end diagnostic engine, streamline operations, view key business opportunities with foreseeable analytics, and personalized customer service according to the client’s past history and former interactions with your organization.

CRM software is generally used to effectively manage business-client relationships. But, the software can also be used in a similar manner in order to successfully manage contacts, sales leads, contract wins, and clients in general as well.

Below is a basic CRM Software Review of the top five systems according to global market share:

Salesforce

Although Salesforce is relatively new, it follows the path of no one. It’s currently the most popular CRM software publisher overall. While it’s not as large as its fierce competitors, including SAP, Microsoft, or Oracle, it has nevertheless gained more than two million customers worldwide.

Salesforce has become one of the primary providers of CRM software applications that’s delivered through a cloud computing model or SaaS (software as a service). The company’s main solution involves a CRM system created for businesses and industries of all sizes throughout the world.

Also, Salesforce provides a PaaS (platform as a service) solution known as ‘Force’ (Force.com) and manages an integrated third party type of systems portfolio in an ecosystem online called ‘AppExchange’. Salesforce markets its enterprise software and CRM solutions to various organizations on a subscription basis, essentially via a direct sales model as well as indirectly in a business partner approach.

SAP

SAP’s CRM solution includes a fully integrated client relationship management software system manufactured by SAP that primarily targets the general requirements of business software of both midsize and large businesses for virtually all sectors and industries.

The SAP CRM application involves a variety of integrated modules that fully support client-facing functional areas such as:

SAP CRM Sales
SAP CRM Marketing
SAP CRM Interaction Center
SAP CRM Service
SAP CRM Partner Channel Management
SAP CRM Web Channel (including E-Service, E-Marketing, and E-Commerce)

Like its top competitor Oracle, SAP chose to release a SaaS CRM type of product known as SAP Sales on Demand. But, this web-based solution is more about enhancing their on-premise products in general.

Oracle

Oracle’s range of CRM products consist of Oracle Siebel CRM, Oracle Contact Center Anywhere, Oracle CRM on Demand, Oracle PeopleSoft Enterprise, and Oracle E-Business Suite. The company itself retains more than 5,000 CRM customers worldwide, about 130 million users in self-service, and approximately 5 million users in general.

Since its acquisition in 2005 by Oracle, the product has maintained a forward push, but not without some hefty competition from one of its biggest competitors (SAP) along with a number of ways to measure market share. Today, Oracle and SAP both claim the top spots in the CRM software industry. However, most analysts are inclined to give Oracle software a slight edge, although it’s primarily based on which benchmarks are counted and variables are used overall.

Sugar CRM

Sugar CRM is considered the best CRM software available today. Not only is it very affordable, it doesn’t require you to get an upgrade or feature any hidden fees. It also enables each staff member to effectively handle customers face-to-face. Sugar CRM is known for creating excellent relationships between clients and salespeople. It automates different aspects of the business including customer service as well as marketing and selling.

Also, Sugar CRM can potentially make sales teams as much as 20 percent more efficient overall since it perfectly combines the basic mobility, simplicity, and social components of a consumer app along with optimizing the business process of traditional CRM.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Microsoft Dynamics CRM has turned into a prominent CRM software solution. Microsoft CRM stands alone in an ever-changing CRM marketplace since the same code set can be used in the SaaS remote delivery model or incorporated on-premise. Customers can also directly subscribe from Microsoft to Dynamics CRM or else choose from a variety of specialized partners.

Microsoft CRM’s latest release now enables SaaS clients as well as business partners to easily install server-side code within the Microsoft data centers and cloud. Microsoft CRM software will keep advancing together with Azure, Microsoft’s highly regarded public cloud.

This CRM comparison regarding CRM software is offered in a variety of installations, which include on-premises or as cloud (web-based) applications where the software itself is typically hosted through a CRM provider and then accessed by the client’s online business through the secure services of the provider.

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Company Core Values: Why Your Company Needs Them

When you look at your company, do you see a brand? When you think about your business, is there a culture or vision that underpins everything you do? We call this company core values.

If you have driven your business growth to the point where you now employ several people, across a few departments or if you’ve launched a new company like we did with Office Kitten recently, it may be time to establish a set of company values so that everyone is pulling in the same direction.

What will be the benefits of having a company DNA, or set of values, written down in this way?

Well, it spells out to all of your staff exactly what the business stands for; it will aid recruitment and will also help you win future business (hopefully).

Company Core Values: Where to begin?

Where do you begin? A small focus group will be the best starting point, taking at least one person from each department internally. Try to mix up the seniority of the people involved, to ensure you are getting the widest possible range of opinions.

Once you have your group gathered together, get them engaged on the subject of the company – what are the things that make us successful? What do they think we stand for? What are our strengths? What makes the company stand apart from the competition? What makes them proud to work here? How should we be conducting ourselves internally and externally?

Ensure someone is leading the process and someone else is taking notes – keep the session light and fast-paced and don’t let it slide into any mud-slinging, although all opinions on the company should be heard.

This will give you a great start in the process. Encourage those in your focus group to go away and tell the others in their department what’s been going on, to get a buzz going around the business.

Once this is over, attempt to simplify everything that’s been said as much as possible. Don’t make it a shopping list – less is definitely more, as staff get bored if there’s too much to understand.

Keywords

Look for four or five keywords that dominate from your group session. Can these work as headings for your values?

Perhaps it’s broad terms such as ‘passion’, ‘pride’, ‘knowledge’, ‘ambition’, ‘can-do’ or ‘solutions’. You can then describe under these headings what it is specifically that you mean in a practical, day-to-day sense.

Get these down, consult with senior colleagues and, when you’re happy, share with your workforce.

The ideal way to communicate your newly defined set of values is via training. This can be done either by department or all together and it’s vital that you get everyone fully involved and engaged.

Your workforce has to live and breathe this set of words; if they don’t buy into it, then the whole process has been for nothing.

It might work well to start by displaying your ‘headline’ words and asking staff to show you how this word will work in practice? Ask them ‘what does this mean to you?’ ‘Do you do this every day?’ ‘What does it mean to our customers?’

Part of daily life

Your values must be more than just a piece of paper, so ensure they are part of daily life in the workplace. It might be good practice to include the terms in staff one-to-ones and appraisals – how far is the employee living up to the values of the company in their actions?

Finally, your brand DNA and values must be ever evolving. The direction of a business can change quickly as new contracts or clients come on board, so make it an annual process to review the values and question if they still apply to the way the business is operating today.

With a defined set of values in place, you will be able to present yourself in a clear and attractive way to potential new customers and employees. It’s the next step in your business growth and you will reap the rewards by approaching it in the right way.

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Dream Big, Win Big at #IBYE 2015

The Search is on for 93 of Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneurs.

Through Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur competition (#IBYE), over 90 people aged between 18 and 30 will win €10,000 – €20,000 to invest in their own businesses in Ireland this year.

That lump sum can buy that new piece of equipment you need; it can pay the salary of a new employee joining the team or it can fund that marketing campaign that will help your business expand into new markets.

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD, pictured with the 2014 winners of the #IBYE competition. Photo: Mark Stedman/Photocall Ireland

Last year, Philip Martin used his prize money to buy specialist machinery, helping him to open Ireland’s first tortilla-making factory in Tipperary (Winner: Best Business Idea).

The money also helped Eamon Keane take on highly skilled staff at Xpreso Software in South Dublin (Winner: Best Start Up Business/ Overall Winner). And it came in very handy when Dean Gammell from Westmeath was expanding his group booking software business into the UK (Winner: Best Established Business).

Every Local Enterprise Office (LEO) around the country has €50,000 (each) to invest in three local businesses and start-ups – and with 31 LEOs, that bring the total number of winners to 93. Each local winner will get an injection of cash between €10,000 and €20,000 to put straight into their business.

And that’s just the start!

Up to 500 young entrepreneurs and business owners will also be invited to take part in Business Bootcamps around the country, helping them finely tune their business plans or learn new enterprise skills. One-to-one mentoring and business coaching will also be available, through all 31 LEOs.

To be in with a chance to win, complete the entry form through the IBYE website on-line. But hurry, the deadline to enter this year’s competition is July 31st 2015.

There are some competition terms and conditions (you have to be aged between 18 and 30 for a start and your business idea or existing business must be in Ireland), but if you don’t try, you can’t win!

So, why not ‘Dream Big and Win Big’ at #IBYE 2015!

See more about #IBYE here on YouTube

(#IBYE is completely free to enter and is part of the Action Plan for Jobs 2015. It is supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through Enterprise Ireland and the Local Enterprise Offices http://www.ibye.ie)

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Are You Living in Tomorrowland? Science Fiction to Science Fact

I had the pleasure of seeing Paul Hayes of BeachhutPR at work with a group of start ups. He explained that successful starts ups frame the future of the sector they operate in. Preferably in 5 words.

You need a vision

Which means you need to have a vision of that future. In order to do so you need to understand future trends in your sector. Without that you cannot frame the story.

No direction

But it is amazing how unaware people are of future trends and as a result do not have a vision, let alone a sense of direction.

Play Xbox and read science fiction

We regularly speak to groups of businesses about future proofing their business. The advice we give is this. Play Xbox and read science fiction. Because science fiction is becoming science fact. If you are a science fiction fan, you must have read “Neuromancer” (1984) by William Gibson. Or “Snow Cash” (1995) by Neal Stephenson. Cyber punk is now around the corner. If you belief in “Filter Bubble” then “1984” has already happened.

Tomorrowland

That is the world of “Tomorrowland” by Steve Kotler”. The co-author of “Bold”, the author of “The age of Superman”. A man steeped in science, technology and entrepreneurship. We reviewed it on Newstalk.

Sciencefact

In “Tomorrowland” Kotler describes how science fiction is now science fact, covering:

bionics
mind uploading
augmentation
flying cars
space diving
genetics
nuclear power
asteroid mining
life extension
stem cells
synthetic biology
religion

We are stepping into a weird and wonderful world. Exponential change is changing everything.

Kotler goes back to Kevin Kelly and “What technology wants”, claiming that technology in itself is an organism with an inevitable trajectory to AI, singularity (by 2029) or Skynet.

Some examples of science fact

We are building new bodies, soon we will build new brains. They are building intelligent prosthetics, they are building soul catchers (a micro memory chip implanted in the brain, capturing your life. IBM already build Watson but are now building a blue brain. They have built artificial eyes. We are (re-) terra forming the Everglades and will start applying that to other planets soon. We are 5 years away from asteroid mining (building an oil platform is more difficult). We can build portable safe portable nuclear reactors, which would address some of the climate chance and carbon issues we are (not) facing.

Climate change

Because of our involvement in Climatekick, solving the carbon problem is close to my heart. If an American got all his or her lifetime electricity solely from nuclear power, that person’s share of waste would fit into one soda can. If an American got all his or her electricity from coal, that person’s waste would weigh 68.5 tons and fit into six 12-ton railroad cars. And their share of carbon dioxide coal emissions would come to 77 tons. Nuclear reactors, meanwhile, have virtually no carbon footprint

Immortality

If Kurzweil is right, you will be able to download your brain onto a lap top. Immortality is around the corner.

Hacking biology

Evolution at the speed of Moore’s law. We are hacking Darwin. How long after that until parents are saying: I bought you the best brain money can buy — now why don’t you use it?

Biocrime

Did you ever read “I am Pilgrim” by Terry Hayes? Biocrime is new. But did you know that that the Secret Service is already taking extraordinary steps to protect presidential DNA. According to the Daily Mail, in May 2011, when Barack Obama stopped off for a pint of Guinness at Ollie Hayes’s pub in Moneygall, Ireland, his service detail quickly removed the glass from which he’d drunk.

They have created the world’s first self-replicating, synthetic chromosome. Synthetic Genomics is working on a designer algae that consumes CO2 and excretes biofuel. DuPont recently designed an organism that utilizes corn syrup to create a widely used polymer base for plastics manufacturing, saving 40 percent on energy costs.

Imagine organisms that can thrive in battery acid or on the surface of Mars, or enzymes able to polymerize carbon into diamonds or nanotubes. The ultimate limits to synthetic biology are hard to discern, and have yet to be explored.

Why is this relevant?

We can already hear the questions. Why is this relevant? This has nothing to do with business. Or the best one “this does not apply to my sector”.

Here are some examples of what that means:

If you are in computing or health; $ 2.7 billion to sequence DNA in 2000. Now it costs $ 1,000. It will cost a penny by 2020. It will be cheaper to sequence your DNA than flushing your toilet.
If you are in transport; a Predator drone cost 4 million. The crowd can build if for $ 300. The development of drones is accelerating at twice the speed of Moore’s law.
If you are in farming or retail; in 3 years there will be nano fridges that can print broccoli.
If you are in pensions; in 5 years there will be at least 2 million people that are completely digitized. DNA, neuro-profiles, bio markers, bacteria, food intake, etc. You will live to be 200 years. That is the current pension system gone.
If you are an accountant; Bitcoin will make accounting obsolete.
Builders need to be aware of 3D and 4D printing.

2020

By 2020 there will be fifty billion connected devices. A trillion by 2030. We will have robots, virtual technology, sensors everywhere, augmentation, AI, solar, nano, collaborative consumption, open innovation, local Techshops everywhere, neuro-enhancements, drones, Bitcoin, quantified self (everything in your life is measured).

It is coming your way

Name it. Impacting every industry. Doubling the speed of development every year. Getting cheaper, better, smarter.

Frame your future

Now frame your sector, your business and your success in that future. If you need help, that is what we do. And reading Tomorrowland is a good start.

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The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Time Management

Being your own boss can be a challenge sometimes. You need to work efficiently, yet have the ability to deal with those unforeseen circumstances that always crop up. A balance has to be struck between time spent, efficiency and quality of output. And information has to be managed in a way that makes it both accessible and useful.

Here are five valuable tips from the experts to help manage your time successfully:

1. Give your work day structure by dividing it into a series of concrete tasks.
2. Make a reasonable estimate of how much time is needed for each task and stick to the routine.
3. Keep clear, easily accessible records of each day’s work.
4. Modify and test your daily goals and tweak them to keep up with your changing business.
5. Add padding to deadlines, building in the flexibility to deal with unexpected situations as they arise.

As a self-directed business owner, you are probably adept at seeing the “big picture.” But it’s necessary to look at your business through a closer lens sometimes. Being organized means having the ability to compartmentalize. What is the first thing you do each day? Start there and outline the sequence of actions you take in the course of the day. In your outline, give important tasks the time and attention that they require while also making room for less pressing jobs.

Since human beings are creatures of habit, having a workflow plan helps streamline your day. Setting aside an appropriate amount of time for each task lets you focus on those facets of the working day that are most crucial to revenue. It also helps prevent the problem of getting stuck in one area of the process while neglecting others. Strikingly, one quarter of all small business owners in one survey believe that each hour they work is worth almost $500 in profits. This makes time management an essential part of any business plan.

Having quick and targeted access to information about your business is invaluable. That’s why record keeping is so important. In this computerized age, businesses no longer have to drown in paperwork, but can organize information into digital files that are easy to access.

Consider your hard drive to be a digital filing cabinet. Separate different functions, tasks and data into their own folders and don’t be afraid to create subcategories. The more organized the information is, the faster you will find what you’re looking for.

This is where a good software program can be invaluable. Not everyone is adept at data management and there are programs that not only keep records, but give instant snapshots of the results of your efforts. Nothing is static in the business world, and daily tasks should be continually evaluated to make sure that they are still in step with the goals of the business. Modification and testing, especially with the aid of a top notch virtual assistant, will aid in time management and realization of goals.

As you have probably figured out by now, the tasks you set yourself are not always linear, and sometimes going back to a previous step is unavoidable. Adding extra time to estimates for completing assignments is an effective coping strategy. This gives you the flexibility to step outside the box (or schedule) and deal with contingencies as they arise. If deadlines end up being met ahead of time, that will only make you look good!

The future is bright for entrepreneurs. U.S. census data shows that small businesses have continued to produce the majority of new jobs in the past two decades. The use of data management tools is one of the ways that entrepreneurs can continue to thrive in our economy. Using these five tips as a starting point, running your own business can be an exciting and successful challenge!

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How Will The New Companies Act Affect Businesses In Ireland

The long awaited Consolidated Companies Bill that came into force on the 1^st June 2015 has affected huge numbers of businesses throughout Ireland. The new law essentially consolidates the existing Companies Acts of 1963-2013 into a single piece of legislation that requires business owners to make a number of changes over the next 18 months.

It’s the largest reform of company law in over 50 years and is intended to make the process of registering and operating a business in Ireland easier. Some of the key changes include:

The creation of two types of Private Limited Company

Any business currently registered as a Private Limited Company (PrC) will have to decide between one of two new options.

Private Company Limited by Shares (LTD)

Expected to be used by corporations, under the new law an LTD company requires:

Only one director as long as they’re a member of the EU and over eighteen years of age.

If a LTD company has one director it must appoint a separate company secretary that can either be an individual, or a corporate body. If you chose an individual, this cannot be the same person who fulfills the role of director.

A new LTD company will have “Limited” after its name.

Previously, businesses had to state their business objectives in the Memorandum and Articles of Association document. This will be replaced by a single document (commonly referred to as the “constitution”) and businesses will no longer be required to state their objectives to the government.

The omission of the objects clause allows the company to trade in any lawful business or activity.

Companies are no longer required to hold an Annual General Meeting.

May pass written resolutions by the relevant majority.

Designated Activity Company (DAC)

Certain companies are expected to become a DAC including charities, management companies, regulated financial institutions and companies limited by guarantee.

You must have at least 2 directors both over the age of eighteen.

All DAC companies (except charities) will require a change of title that includes Designated Activity Company at the end of the company name.

A DAC must still hold Annual General Meetings.

Companies will have a two-page constitution that states the objects for which the company is incorporated.

A DAC can claim eligibility for an audit exemption.

Codification of Directors

To clearly outline responsibilities, under the new law there are now eight principle duties that all directors must adhere to:

Act in good faith.
Act honestly and responsibly.
Act in accordance with the company’s constitution.
Not to use company property unless approved by the constitution.
Not to fetter discretion unless permitted by the constitution.
To avoid conflicts of interest.
To exercise care skill and diligence.
To have regard for the interests of members as well as employees.

For anyone found to be breaking the new laws, fines will range from €5,000 – €500,000 depending on the severity of the offence.

Loans to and from Directors

The rules surrounding loans to and from a director has also been amended. If there is no appropriate documentation surrounding the terms of the loans, the following will be presumed:

Loans to a director will be subject to interest and repayable on demand.

Loans from a director will not be considered a loan and won’t bear any interest.

Foreign Companies

For foreign companies with a presence in Ireland, the new Companies Act has abandoned the concept of “place of business” cancelling the registration numbers of any existing business.

For foreign companies that meet certain requirements you may want to consider registering the business as a branch.

There will be an 18-month transition period from the 1^st June 2015 and any company failing to act within this timeframe will automatically be deemed to be a DAC during the transition period, and a LTD after the transition deadline. Failure to convert to the appropriate company type may cause legal issues for the company, shareholders and directors.

This post was written by Open A European Company.com. Helping entrepreneurs, startups and businesses with company incorporation and formation in Ireland and the rest of Europe.

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The three National ClimateLaunchpad Finalists

One of the members of the Smallbusinesscan team had the pleasure to coach the participants in the climatelaunchpad. This are the winners that are going to Amsterdam. If you can help them in any way, contact ron@smallbusinesscan.com. All help, suggestions, ideas, introductions appreciated.

wasteNOT

is a technology to enable the consumer to efficiently manage their food by reducing waste and saving money. A combination of innovative labelling, ICT and a smart phone app will automatically maintain an inventory of current food by expiry date and send push notifications of food that needs eating with suggested recipes. The founders Eoin White, Tom Oldfield and Nick Holden, have a dream to enable sustainable food systems globally.

The wasteNOT team

The three team members have a passion for system thinking and sustainability. Tom Oldfield is carrying out a PhD in sustainability, focused on the environmental impact of recovering nutrients from agri-food resources. Tom’s career has transitioned from the British Army to being a Humanitarian professional with Concern Worldwide to completing his PhD. Eoin White is a sustainability consultant specialising in energy analysis and life cycle assessment. He also works as a part time researcher at UCD investigating environmental decision analysis. Prior experience includes working for Shell Global Solutions. Nick Holden is a professor in UCD, and is a global expert in agricultural and environmental research, specialising in the environmental impact of agri-food sector and soil.

Boltz Secret Seeds

are seedbombs enhanced with biochar. They are a platform to encourage people to garden at home, locally produce fruit & flowers and make a great occasion gift. The biochar enhancement promotes the growth of the seeds thus making them more efficient and environmentally friendly. The founder Elaine Doyle, has a dream to develop products that are environmentally responsible and the first product – secret seeds – will change the world one flower at a time.

The Boltz team

Elaine is academically, professionally and personally passionate about sustainability, having worked in various organisations such as Engineers without Border, Food Cloud, and Wind Prospect. She has a background in engineering, specialising in materials and environmental education, development and social entrepreneurship. She is the founder of Bolts, an environmental product development company and the first product she has developed is called Secret Seeds.

Agri Grow Lights

is a state-of-the-art solution that, by controlling the light spectrum from LED lights, food producers can increase the nutritious content of crops. The founders – Brian Reilly – has a dream to provide solutions to address global challenges on food production; growing more nutritious crops will assist in productivity, encourage people to grow their own and reduce excessive food miles and carbon emissions. The added bonus is that the LEDs are super energy efficient.

The Grow Lights team

Brian Reilly is a Horticultural Scientist with qualifications from UCD, and the idea being presented is based on his final year dissertation. Brian has keen interest in R&D to develop the agricultural industry worldwide to ensure security of food supply and nutritional value of food, and has established the company Agri Grow Lights to achieve this goal. Brian has completed a graduate programme with IPM Potato Group, a subsidiary of Donegal Investment Group.

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WasteNOT, Boltz Secret Seeds and Agri Grow Lights are business achievers

Minister Bruton announces finalists to represent Ireland at the European ClimateLaunchpad Final

The “A Green Space to Innovate” event kick started the “Sustainability Gathering 2015” and took place on Monday afternoon, the 22^nd of June, 2015 at the CHQ Building, Custom House Quay, Dublin.

The event showcased innovative cleantech entrepreneurs, and hosted the national final of the ClimateLaunchpad competition.

The ClimateLaunchpad programme is managed by Climate-KIC, the EU’s main climate innovation initiative.

The three finalists wasteNOT, Boltz Secret Seeds and Agri Grow Lights were announced by Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD, and will represent Ireland at the European ClimateLaunchpad Final

The European Final will take place in Amsterdam on the 4^th of September 2015 and Start-ups from 28 countries will compete in it.

Announcing the finalists, Minister Richard Bruton, T.D. remarked: “The green economy is an important economic pillar for Ireland’s continued growth and prosperity and is a key sector which we have targeted as part of our Action Plan for Jobs. We are determined to nurture and support more entrepreneurs and start-up businesses in this area. Ireland’s participation in ClimateLaunchpad is a wonderful opportunity to position our cleantech entrepreneurs to take advantage of global opportunities.”

Cleantech entrepreneurs are establishing businesses that respond to global challenges such as climate change and resource (energy, water) scarcity. By their nature entrepreneurs and start-up companies are demonstrating leadership by taking brave decisions to develop their business and have a global impact.

Frans Nauta, Deputy Director Entrepreneurship Climate-KIC and founder of ClimateLaunchpad: “Across Europe hundreds of good ideas were submitted for ClimateLaunchpad 2015. It’s great to see so many start-ups with outstanding cleantech innovations that combat climate change. This competition trains teams to develop and sell their ideas. We see lots of opportunities for them to achieve global impact with their businesses.”

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Entrepreneurship in Local-serving Industries and How to Carry Out SEO

Below are a few tips to guide you in establishing an SEO strategy that will be effective with both your target audience and the search engines.

Importance of SEO to local based practitioners

Studies in the field of law for instance have shown that Google, Bing and other search engines are the second most prevalent way people use to find lawyers. Roughly, 22% of potential clients start their search on their Internet homepages, while a further 11% start somewhere else on the Internet. Added up, it means roughly one third of all potential clients attempt to find attorneys through the Internet.

While the study was specific to lawyers, the figures are not much different for other locally serving professionals. As a dentist, chiropractor or other practitioner, it’s safe to assume that a significant percentage of new clients will come from search engines and other online sources.

Why SEO is difficult for local-based practitioners

The math seems quite simple – invest towards SEO and you will start seeing your business expand and grow. However, it really is not that simple. Like everything else related to business, SEO takes hard work and a lot of smarts in order to succeed.

The main challenge of SEO is the fact that Google as well as other search engines make continuous changes to their rules and algorithms. Therefore, what is applicable today may become inapplicable tomorrow. There’s no knowing when or what the next update will be, since any changes are wholly at the search engines’ discretion.

Given the frequency of algorithm updates, it’s very difficult for a fulltime practitioner to also invest time in learning SEO best practices and carrying them out. Just when you have learnt some technique, chances are that the rules might be changed, taking you back to square one. That’s why professional entrepreneurs need to have professional SEO services on board to handle that aspect of business.

Hiring an SEO Professional

There are several options available in this regard: you choose an SEO freelancer, an agency or hire an in-house SEO professional as part of your staff. In any scenario, there are millions of SEO and growth marketing service providers who can offer the service you need. However, practicing entrepreneurs have little knowledge about SEO and online marketing, which can make hiring the right service provider more challenging for them.

As a credible practitioner, you stand to lose much if you form an association with SEO service providers who are not conversant with or don’t follow the rules. You will either lose a lot of money or destroy your online reputation. Most likely, both will happen. Therefore, you have a big responsibility to find out what kind of SEO services your business will be best served by, and carry out careful assessment of potential service providers until you have the best one.

There’s a lot to learn about SEO, and the limited experience of local-serving practitioners makes them prime candidates for scamming by unscrupulous “experts” with little understanding of the inside workings of SEO. As you conduct your search, bear in mind that anyone can say anything about the skills and knowledge held, but concrete results are what you should look out for.

Google Hummingbird and why you should care

Prior to searching for SEO assistance, you need to have a rough idea of SEO basics. You may not have the time to delve into the intricacies of the trade, but at the least you must know what’s allowable and not, any new major algorithm updates and how they would affect your practice. This will make the foundation of your conversations with potential service providers.

First, it was Google Panda, followed by Google Penguin and in October 2013, Google Hummingbird joined the game, being the most complex algorithm released to date. There are many features of the Hummingbird algorithm, but the most important for local practitioners is the importance placed on local results and semantic search capability.

Below are a few rules to play by to continue winning in the Hummingbird era:

Remember that high quality and relevant content is still the best SEO weapon in your arsenal, regardless of any reports to the contrary. Ensure that your articles’ content base on your key practice areas, and make it semantically pleasing to hook readers.
Ensure your contact information is clear and consistent. Hummingbird tries to serve results based on searchers’ locales; hence appropriately displaying accurate contact information will enable you to nab searchers in your locality. You should also set up and maintain an active social media profile on major social networks, including Google Plus.

Keywords may have diminished in value, but they are still important to your SEO strategy. Be keen to note how potential service providers treat your keywords in the strategy they intend to implement for your practice. Have a healthy balance between long-tail and short-tail keywords, and don’t overdo any.

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