Heir-Q Online

An unemployed man from Weston Super Mare is to launch a business in just 24 hours – with the help of employment and skills experts Working Links.

Vaughan Harrison, 52, who moved to the South West from his native Burnley, Lancashire in 2004, has been out of work since losing his bar supervisor job last summer.

24 Hour Business Enterprise Launch Short Film

Although having been employed in various hospitality roles, Vaughan’s passion for fashion came out after he turned to Working Links for help.

He said: “I grew up working for a very well-respected tailor in the North West and picked up a lot of his skills before becoming fully-qualified in tailoring as well.

“I did it for a few years before the work ran dry and I went into the hospitality industry to make a living. I’ve always missed it and it would be great to get back to doing what I love.”

Vaughan will launch his new business – In Stitches – with the help of Working Links and its local partners over 24 hours on July 20 and 21.

The project will be managed by Darren Henwood, Working Links’ South West Marketing Manager. He said: “Many people think it’s quite difficult to launch a new business, especially in just one day but we’re going to do exactly that.

“We’re going to show that the tough economic times are no barrier to launching a business. Working Links has a tremendous track record of helping people set up in business and we will ensure Vaughan’s new enterprise will be a huge success.”

Design and marketing consultancy Workbrands will work on corporate images and brand identity while Bristol web development agency – Bristol Developers will produce a website for the new business.

Film producer Thomas Gasson will document the occasion and Euro RSCG Biss Lancaster will work on gaining media publicity for Vaughan.

Nick Farrar, Director of Workbrands, said: “We’ll be putting together a new brand for Vaughan and implementing it across stationery, marketing material and a website. In addition, we’ll print the stationery on our in-house digital press and deliver them within the 24 hour period.

“As a company we’ve implemented a lot of rebrands, but never attempted everything in 24 hours. That said, we’re up for a challenge and it’s great to be given the opportunity to get involved in such a positive local initiative.”

In Stitches will specialise in tailor-made suits, alterations, repairs and even soft furnishings.

Vaughan added: “I’m really looking forward to it. It should be quite a manic 24 hours but it’ll definitely be worth it.

“There’s a real niche in the market in this region for my services. When you buy a suit from the high street, very rarely will it fit perfectly. I can offer a service where – for just a little extra – you will get perfectly-fitted clothes.”

Working Links is the 7th largest supplier to the Department of Work and Pensions.  The marketing function has implemented model marketing, product development and PR strategy to support delivery of £500 million of government contracts and in support of new business bids and diversification.

These video extracts feature the personal thoughts of Darren Henwood, Marketing and Communications Manager on the challenges facing the government contractors in finding jobs for long term unemployed people in the UK.

Click here - Welfare to Work Commentary

In the early 1990’s William J. Tobin, an Internet retailer and founder of PC Flowers & Gifts patented a web idea already familiar to us all.  Word of mouth or existing customer referral has long been coveted as the best advertising available to our businesses.  I think about my time more recently in Health Clubs and the Leisure Industry where any measurable new business in as much as 60% of cases could be attributed to word of mouth.

As many pioneers of online retailing would continue to do so, William Tobin identified a traditional marketing idea that works and developed a technology based solution for the virtual world.  In today’s postmodern digital economy this simple idea has continued to evolve.  Today the relationship between online advertisers and website publishers is driven by a virtual word of mouth called Affiliate Marketing.  Affiliate Websites are setting new standards in integrated online and traditional marketing.

10 years ago I was asked to look at Search Engine Optimization and what benefits there might be to a technology trade journal that was supported by a basic website.  At the time link building websites were commonplace.  Google is built on a platform that ranks website link popularity and at the time the opportunity to buy this popularity came at a price.  Link building is a sub-section of Search Engine Marketing that continues to evolve and offer a broad range of Internet marketing services.  Many of these organisations now offer integrated marketing solutions and have a 10-year legacy of information to back up the success of their services. 

At the same time Pay-Per-Action (PPA) solutions were being considered, developed and scrutinised.  Integrated Marketing Companies were developing pioneering online platforms that generated revenue from retailers paying commission for leads and sales. It’s hard to say how much money has been invested in research and development around the world but as yet very few viable Pay-Per-Action (PPA) websites have been launched to the mass market with any success.  In fact PPA near as died a death when Google abandoned their PPA research and development in favour of the acquisition of DoubleClick whose solution allows advertisers to target, deliver, and report on their interactive advertising campaigns.  Enter the Price Comparison Website!

An Affiliate Website could be defined as a search engine that uses pay-per-click advertising to promote retailers.  In my mind an affiliate website has become a combination of digital and traditional media.  Loyalty schemes, product review sites, rss feeds, email newsletter affiliates, registration path or co-registration affiliates and virtual currency (Facebook and Yahoo Games & Xbox Live) could all be described as Affiliate Websites.

Third party agents entering markets for their slice of the pie is always a sign of market saturation. An Affiliate Network acts as an intermediary between publishers and Affiliate Websites. These include Amazon Associates, Google Affiliate Network, Azoogle Ads and Linkshare.  So where next for this electronic word of mouth.  Integrated, cross-media, multi-channel, price comparison marketing - Simples!

Internet Entrepreneurs spent the last 20 years diluting a very simple business idea with complex computer algorithms that the simple retailers couldn’t and wouldn’t digest.  It could be that the thinking was ahead of its time or it could be that if you have an online service or network of services to benefit the mass market you need television advertising dollars and simple messages to make it happen. It is this commitment to traditional print and televised advertising that has made this happen. Had anyone actually heard of a price comparison website before the first televised advert in the UK?  In much the same way the supermarket has become the single destination for all of our shopping needs and the online supermarket (or moneysupermarket.co.uk) has become our point of sale for services and service comparisons.

The art of the broker who has all the contacts that can get the best deal has become obsolete.  The number of services makes this difficult for one man or third party and the number of calculations necessary for such a wide range of services would beyond the sharpest of industry brokers.  Traditionally the commission came from the customer and not the retailer and in these hard times customers are more diligent.  The accessibility and user-friendly nature of the home computer and the exposure generated from prime time television coverage has come together to create real value in price comparison services.  Internet service provision of word of mouth has come full circle.  We now have straight forward services to benefit merchant, agent, and most importantly of all - the customer.

Notes to the Editor
* Darren Henwood is currently employed in Marketing & Communications at Working Links Ltd.  Working Links deliver over 70 Government and European Union contracts to tackle poverty, worklessness, social exclusion.

* Results-oriented marketing professional with track record in implementing marketing strategy to meet business objectives.  11 years professional public and private sector marketing experience. B2B and B2C experience in Welfare to Work, Education, Architecture, Publishing, Leisure and Radio.

* Specialising in Strategic Marketing Planning, New Product Development, E-Commerce Strategy Development, Lead Generation, Direct Marketing Strategy Design, Public Relations & Public Affairs, Direct & Media Response, Market Research & Analysis

 Television Video Highlights
* Interviewed by Ken Rees, Former BBC Correspondent on changes to the UK Welfare Industry, NEETS looking for work, 50+ age group looking for work & volunteering to gain experience - click here

* 24 Hour Business Enterprise Launch concept - click here

Contact
Public Linked In Profile - http://www.linkedin.com/pub/darren-henwood/11/721/819
Consultancy Blog - www.heirq.com/wp

Introduction

I often feel that data brokering does not receive a great deal exposure as a viable marketing resource.  The over riding reason for this is that generally businesses who obtain access to a database are disappointed with the resulting direct mail or email activity. 

This report outlines a clear strategy for getting results from your data broker marketing and discusses methods for getting results over an above more typical marketing activity.

Big Players

There are a number of large data organisations that nurture a massively profitable business model for selling information and marketing research.  Some examples include Dunn & Bradstreet, Datamonitor and Experian.  These organisations promote their data selling business model behind a mask of better customer relationship management, market research and other high end, blue chip service provision but the basic principles are the same – that dealing directly with your target audience can yield results and the best and quickest way is acquiring a database to market too.

Cost Effective Data Brokering

In the UK and US a lot of data brokers operate on behalf of list organisations such as Yell and Thomson and on behalf of membership organisations such as the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Bankers etc.  These brokers are governed by a high level of data protection and rightly so and access to these databases will be by third party and for a one time usage.   This offers little chance of integration with existing marketing strategy, lead generation and leaves many organisations with a sense of loss rather than gain.

I have dealt with a number of overseas providers of databases.  In fact many of these providers have contracts for data cleaning and data verification for Dunn & Bradstreet, Datamonitor and more.  Why wouldn’t you outsource a labour intensive task to a more competitive employment landscape?  It is possible to go direct to source and work with an overseas provider of information.  This will give you overall responsibility for the information you acquire but also all of the lead generation benefits.

Data Brokering Versus Advertising

A typical trade press advert in a financial sector publication could set you back £8,000 to £15,000.  For that same price you could acquire a database for £1 per record and as many as 20,000 business professional representative of your target audience.  What is the readership and circulation of this trade press publication, does it have a circulation audit, and does it have a print audit? There are a lot of grey areas and always a certain ‘leap of faith’ that applies to trade press advertising.  With your own database and total control of the resulting activity you can really start to build a tangible marketing strategy with clear return on investment.

Effective Use of Your New Database

As ever there are two different stretches of activity to consider – Brand Marketing or a Call to Action.  Any newly acquired information can be added to your outbound marketing initiatives to ensure your brand reaches new areas and as ever will only be as trackable as your standard email tracking and direct response initiatives.

The best way to try out your new information is with a genuinely attractive call to action i.e. a personal invitation to attend an industry event as your guest, free services on a trial basis, exciting viral marketing initiatives.  These types of initiatives will add a real boost of exposure to your marketing effort and give you a unique opportunity to speak to new responsive clients.

A Word on Responsible Marketing

Be sure to use all information responsibly.  If a contact no longer wishes to receive information from you add them to you exclusions lists and work hard to guarantee they never receive information again.  No one wants the reputation as a ‘spammer’.

Darren Henwood,
Director,
HeirQ Marketing Consultancy,
darren.henwood@heirq.com,
http://www.heirq.com

If you are the owner of a website or indeed a marketing consultancy maintaining a portfolio of websites you will be familiar with the trials and tribulations of understanding DNS settings, MX records and A records.  As a marketing consultancy or marketing professional it is not our business to understand the technical blueprint.  It is our job to manage our clients’ expectations and business ambitions.

As a rule of thumb there is one simple method to make sure that you can never be dictated to by 3rd party IT vendors and web developers – by making sure you take ownership of all associated domains.

Purchasing New Domains

There are a number of excellent companies who manage the simple process of purchasing domain names.  Enon and Afternic are the industry leaders and will offer you the opportunity to sign up as a reseller.  An off the shelf domain purchased in this way should cost you $10 to $15 dollars a year.

If your domain isn’t available you good consider a domain auction.  Enom and Afternic both manage domain auctions.  Afternic’s is available through their website – Enom is called NameJet.  Both have search features to enable you to track down a previously owned domain.  There are a number of obvious benefits – you will inherit the relevant traffic that this domain has been receiving which could lead to potential new business as well as a good search engine history and profile.  The cost of the domain will vary depending on the competitiveness of the keywords but the benefits are plain to see.  Enom and Afternic will manage the auction and communication with the domain owner and even review the domain to approximate the value and forecasted sale price.

Now you have total ownership of the domain you can decide where the domain is hosted.  i.e. use your existing hosting, try out an alternative, etc.  Either way, you will have total control of the domain and never be at the mercy of a third party IT company managing this on your behalf.  Change the DNS records to point wherever you like – all you need is the IP address of your new host.

Taking Ownership of Existing Domains

If you are maintaining an existing website or overseeing the re-development of a project that requires updating, the principles are the same.  If you are the owner of a company and an IT vendor has purchased the domain on your behalf, it is your intellectual property and you have the right to make the necessary changes.  Likewise if you are managing the expectations of a portfolio of clients you want the flexibility to meet their expectations – for this you need a level of flexibility.

If the domains have been previously registered the process is a little different.  You are relying on your website contact managing the domain to change the IPS TAG.  In order to change the IPS TAG your IT vendor will need to contact the company the domain name is registered with and ask them to change the IPS TAG to the TAG of your new provider. Enom’s TAG is ‘ENOM’ for instance.   If you have been using an IT vendor to manage on your behalf, as the primary domain account holder they will have to make this change.  Make sure you know the TAG for your new provider and relay this information.

This process always creates a level of friction between you and you current IT vendor.  In many ways you are implying that you don’t trust them to manage the domain on your behalf.  Facts are, by not releasing the domain this vendor is actually suggesting you have some reason not to trust them.  The profit margins on the domain management are very small – they are losing their biggest negotiating tool in keeping your business.  Now you will find out just how much they are prepared to keep your business because the only reason for you to maintain their services is a decision based on quality of service.  If you’re not happy with the quality or there is a break down in communication at the flick of a switch you can update your DNS records and point them at a different vendor.

A Word on MX Records

An MX record is a record in the Domain Name System (DNS) specifying how Internet e-mails should be routed using the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP).  In real terms the MX record determines where your emails are sent.  Generally if you transfer a domain to a new domain directory or change the DNS records the MX records will remain the same.  Make sure with your new domain registry you know how to update your MX records and know the details for your mail server for troubleshooting.

Summary

Marketing consultancy executives and leading marketing professionals tend to focus on the creative, revenue centric and lead generation side of marketing.  As a marketing consultant take control of your own and your clients domains.  This will give you full control over the web development process and position above your competition on managing the expectations and corporate objectives or your business and your clients business.

END

Darren Henwood,
Director,
Heir-Q Marketing Consultancy,
darren.henwood@heirq.com,
http://www.heirq.com

As a marketing consultant it is usually a matter of time before you have the correct level of experience, confidence and most of all ambition to represent any client across all areas of the marketing mix.  The realization for me came when representing a public limited company with an enviable client list from every industry sector. 

It seemed to me that some of the most highly paid marketing and business development executives in the world could do with a little insider information on exactly what level of activity and effort goes into generating return on their investment.

Business Development

When a marketing consultancy is in its infancy job roles and titles tend to be blurred.  However, there are still key functions that need to be performed.  Firstly, the success of your business development function will be determined by your marketing consultancy’s ability to create new revenue streams from existing clients and generate new leads.

There are media and events to help your marketing consultancy achieve these goals.  Your level of activity will be determined by your budget.  Use your experience to determine which of the following best suit your lead generation; regional networking meeting, trade shows, local advertising and telephone directories (i.e. yell.com, database acquisition, search engine optimization and email campaign initiatives, existing client referral.  Keeping your marketing local to achieve local market share means you can cut down on traveling time and make all of your activity more revenue centric.

For me, by far and away the best resource available is local and national database acquisition.  The ability to source a targeted list of your new potential clients and approach them directly makes measuring your return on investment a tangible process.  Other initiatives will always leave you wondering exactly how many direct leads were generated.  As a rule of thumb be sure to include media and direct response phone numbers, email address and website addresses on all your initiatives.  This will go some way to demonstrating where your leads are coming from for you to base future marketing decisions.

Search Engine Optimisation

Basic search engine optimization can be achieved free of charge and is crucial to make sure your website receives as much exposure as possible.  If you are operating specialist and niche services focus your search engine optimization for your marketing consultancy on these less competitive keywords and keyphrases.

Once you have a basic level of optimization the future decision to role out your website to mass article directories and website directories will be a smooth transition and any marketing spend in this area can be easily measured with the media and direct response initiatives covered above.

Designer

Every marketing consultancy needs a designer.  The success of your marketing consultancy will largely be based on your ability to interpret your clients marketing and design requirements and you designer’s ability to interpret the quality and attention to detail you demand for your clients. 

There are three clear options for the integration of your designer into your marketing consultancy.  Firstly, you can employ a designer full time that shares your ambition but brings the exact creative appreciation to move your business forwards.   They can meet your clients and engage them on a creative level and play a front running role in driving your marketing consultancy forward.

You can outsource your marketing and design function to other agencies which will give you little control to administer the quality of service you expect for your clients and run the risk of you losing your clients to these agencies direct or you can outsource your design function overseas.  This will create cultural design differences and lengthen delivery time.  If you want your agency to work get your designer available full time and get buy in for your creative vision.

Web Developer

Your clients will invariably require website development work.  Your web developer can oversee the development of your own portfolio website which will provide your best selling tool and provide you with the option to role out your revenue centric, web development function to your clients. 

Historically the development work on a website can be finalized much faster than the design element to your marketing consultancy.  The variables that your designer will encounter when meeting client expectations are infinite but the developer is working to much fewer parameters on functionality and layout.  Either way, having an in house designer means your margin on any business can be a lot higher and your own interests are well looked after. 

Your new website for your marketing consultancy will be your best sales tool.  It is important that your best work to date is presented with good testimonials from good companies so beg, steal and borrow from anyone you have fulfilled marketing functions for. Keep a basic level of search engine optimization including keywords in your domain name and be sure not to include blank spaces in your portfolio.  You want your website looking busy, dynamic, classy and clean so keep your portfolio simple but effective.

END

Darren Henwood
Director
Heir-Q Marketing Consultancy,
darren.henwood@heirq.com,
http://www.heirq.com

Introduction to Google Adsense For Marketing Professionals

Introduction
Google Adsense provides a simple business model to add additional revenue streams to your business or personal website portfolio.  However, as a marketing professional representing your organisation there are a number of careful considerations.

Contents
1. How Will Your Website Perform?
2. Supporting Your Google Adsense
3. Display Templates
4. Advertisement Relevancy
5. Reporting

1.  How Will Your Website Perform?
There are number tools available to webmasters to determine whether Adsense is a viable business option.  Firstly checking the raw access logs provided by your hosting company will give you an indication, not only of homepage traffic but which other sections are receiving the most traffic, how your discussion forums are performing etc.  Secondly, your Google Page Rank is obviously an indication of the number of websites linking back to yours but also an excellent indicator of how your website is performing on search engine results pages and what type of presence you have within you industry sector.

Your Alexa Page will give you a further indication of website traffic and website traffic improvement or decline.  Alexa uses a complicated algorithm to determine this but in simple terms your website receives a score based on 3 months of aggregated traffic and will provide comparisons for your site and competing websites.  Finally, Google provide an Adsense calculator to predict income.  Most measurement tools are notoriously unpredictable (which I will expand on later) but do provide an excellent method of justifying your decisions internally.

In summary Google Adsense will always provide a little pocket money from your personal portfolio and taking the step to install Google Adsense will give you first hand experience of management and implementation.   I am of the opinion that installing Google Adsense to your business website distracts from your core competency – for instance if you are an online retailer why do you want to be using Google Adsense to promote other products or services.  As a basic guideline if you are a community website with at least 15,000 unique visitors per month you should be looking at Google Adsense revenue of around $500 if your management strategy is designed to support Adsense revenue.

2. Supporting your Google Adsense
Good management of your Google Adsense account will yield improving results.  Many of the basic principles are the same as good website management.  Make sure you have a buoyant Search Engine Optimization policy i.e. Meta Tags installed on every page, active link trading and article submissions, a good site map targeted keywords.

Every website needs a process of data capture.  This will give you the opportunity to communicate with your visitors directly.  This can be a simple ‘newsletter sign up’ or a registered user section for viewing article libraries etc.  Ultimately this will provide a live database with which to promote your product portfolio, drive new registered uses and create maximum level of exposure for your Google Adwords.

Finally, community forums and message boards are an excellent money-spinner for Google Adsense and in my experience the best.  Simply installing Google Adsense into the footer of every message as compulsory will ensure that your Google Adsense is spread across every discussion.  What’s more the content of the discussion will be indexed ensuring that Google Adsense is relevant to each individual discussion.

3. Display Templates
Google offer a number of templates for your Adsense including a sponsored mini search engine – ‘Adsense For Search’ and ‘YouTube Video Units’.  As a Webmaster you’ll be aware of recent trends for the size of adverts.  I remember when large leader board adverts were the precedent.  Now it seems most webmasters have opted for a much more subtle approach and your designer will enjoy the combinations of colour and size when implementing into your design.

4. Advertisement Relevancy
As a Webmaster or as a newbie to Google Adsense you will soon face the challenge of making your adverts relevant.  I have had a number of instances where Google simply won’t index the right content on the page.  There is an excellent solution.

By installing ‘<!– google_ad_section_start –> at the start of the coding you would like to be indexed and <!– google_ad_section_end –> at the end this will ensure that the exact keywords and content you would like to be indexed directly effect the relevancy of your adverts.  NB.  It may take a little while to syndicate but when it does the adverts will be 100% relevant.

5. Reporting
Google Adsense offers a number of different reporting options.  If you have followed the basic principles mentioned in this report then you can rest easy that you are doing all that you can to maximise your return.  However, there are two useful tools.  URL channel reporting enables you to see how each of your websites is responding.  URL channel reporting can be easily implemented using the Google Adsense admin panel.

<END>

Darren Henwood
Director
HeirQ Marketing Solutions
darren.henwood@heirq.com
http://www.heirq.com

This study will examine the Australian architecture recruitment landscape with a view to exploiting new revenue streams in line with an existing UK recruitment business model.

Contents
1. Australian Markets
2. Trade Statistics
3. Australian Architecture Landscape
4. Competitor Analysis
5. Marketing Partners
6. Leads & Resources
7. Serviced Office Versus Virtual Office
8. Summary

1. Australian Markets

Australia is the world’s sixth largest country with a population of 20.2 million, and consumer demands similar to those in the UK.  £1 GBP is equivalent to $2.14 AUD. The UK is Australia’s 5th largest source of imports.  Australia consists of six States and two Territories, operating in five different time zones. Flying from Brisbane to Perth is equivalent to flying from London to Moscow. The main population centres are located on the east and west coasts.  Up to 11 hours time difference means late night early morning - early morning late night video conferencing is an excellent resource.

The UK and Australia have a deep political and economic relationship, co-operate closely on international affairs, share common legal systems, languages, and structures of society, face the same societal pressures and develop similar policy responses to those pressures. 1.5 million Australians hold British nationality; more than 650,000 Britons obtain visitor visas for Australia annually; and, more than 750,000 Australian tourists enjoy visa-free entry to the UK each year.

2. Trade Statistics

Australia’s exports to the UK have overtaken imports from the UK largely thanks to the rise in the price of gold.  Total trade with UK 2005-06 was $13.8 billion AUD.  Services exports to the UK 2005-06 were $3.4 billion AUD largely from the travel sector.  Services imports from the UK 2005-06: $4 billion AUD.

1.2 percent of the UK’s exports go to Australia, making Australia the 17th biggest destination for British goods and services.  UK foreign investment in Australia: $51.3 billion or 18 per cent of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Australia.  In terms of investment, the UK and Australia are each other’s 2nd biggest investment partners.  The biggest UK investor in Australia is BP (revenue of $10 billion) followed by Xstrata, Cadbury Schweppes, HBOS, Vodafone, Wittington, Invensys and Inchcape.

3. Australian Architecture Landscape

RAIA (Royal Australian Institute of Architects) has 10,000 members in Australia and abroad and 400 registered practices.  There are 5573 listings in Australian Yellow Pages for Architects.

Students with architecture ambitions are advised to study a relevant subject area at year 12 and take vocational work experience at an architecture practice before university.  There are currently 15 accredited architecture programs offered across Australia in universities and institutes of technology. These courses vary in duration (5 years minimum).  Graduates of architecture programs must complete 2 years of on the job practical work experience before they can apply to become a registered Architect.  The RAIA encourages architects to update and broaden their knowledge and skills continuously through professional development programs.

NB. Temporary & contract desks carry complex legislation.  Legal and accounting laws based on UK so easy to follow.  No substitute for legal and financial support.

4. Competitor Analysis

Australia has two prominent recruitment consultancies serving the architecture community Bloomfield Tremayne and Hays and a mixture of online job boards.

Bloomfield Tremayne - www.bloomfieldtremayne.com.au - Bloomfield Tremayne & Partners is a specialist recruitment agency operating exclusively within Architecture, Interior Design and Drafting. Originating in Melbourne in 1986, with offices in Sydney and affiliated branches in London, Auckland & Dublin, and consistently work in Asia, The Middle East & Europe.

Hays - www.hays.com.au - A team of specialist architectural consultants are able to provide an unrivalled recruitment service in every major city and state through Australia and New Zealand.  Offices in Canberra, Sydney, Newcastle, Brisbane, Southport, Townsville, Maroochydore, Brisbane, Adelaide and Hobart.  Hays have 698 architecture vacancies listed.

Job Boards - MyCareer.com.au, JobsJobsJobs.com.au, Archistaff.com.au, CareerOne.com.au, Seek.com.au, ZamZim.com

5. Marketing Partners

Royal Australian Institute of Architecture - The RAIA is a national body consisting of almost 10,000 members across Australia and overseas. The Institute was formed in 1930 when state architectural Institutes combined to form a unified national association

Melissa Minett
Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA)
Melissa.Minett@raia.com.au
NSW Chapter
3 Manning Street
Potts Point NSW 2011
P +61 (02) 9246 4055 F +61 (02) 9246 4030
www.architecture.com.au/nsw

The Architecture Bulletin - The official magazine of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects NSW Chapter and has been published continuously since 1944. Architecture Bulletin is read by more than 10,000 professionals with a circulation of 3,700 mailed directly to all NSW and ACT RAIA members, local councils, key related organisations and individual subscribers.

Trish Bancroft
Editor, Architecture Bulletin
abeditor@ozemail.com.au
Phone: +61 2 9029 3443
Mobile: +61 0424 723 491
www.architecture.com.au/nsw
RAIA, Tusculum, 3 Manning St, Potts Point, 2011

MyCareer.com - Provides job search and employment opportunities in Australia. Search for jobs by location, job sector, industry or salary to find your dream job.  Construction, Building and Architecture section with 8000 jobs (4000 architecture), Google Page Rank 7 - Alexa Ranking 11,614 and is ranked 113 in Australia, $100 per advert.

Karina Lang
Business Development Manager
MyCareer
t: (+61) 2 8596 4109
f: (+61) 2 8596 4752
klang@fairfaxdigital.com.au
www.mycareer.com.au

Sydney Morning Herald – Main jobs paper for Sydney, NSW.  Saturday Employment Section - circulation 364,000, Standard advert 6289 AUD negotiable.

Paul Sage
Key Account Manager
Sydney Morning Herald
tel: +61 2 9282 1572
mobile: +61 414527373
email: PSage@mail.fairfax.com.au

Brett Warren
Sydney Morning Herald & Fairfax EMEA
Tel: 0207 851 9699
email bwarren@fairfaxbm.com

Faculty of Architecture – University of Sydney

Professor Tom Heneghan
Disciplinary Head, Architecture & Allied Arts
Faculty of Architecture, Design & Planning
The University of Sydney
Wilkinson Building G04
SYDNEY NSW 2006
Ph 02 9351 5924 Fax 02 9351 5665
Email faculty@arch.usyd.edu.au
Website Add: http://www.arch.usyd.edu.au

Faculty of Architecture – University of Technology, Sydney

Dr Sandra Kaji-O’Grady
Head of School and Associate Professor, Architecture
Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building
The University of Technology Sydney
PO Box 123
BROADWAY NSW 2007
Ph 02 9514 8024 Fax 02 9514 8787
Email Kerryn.Stanton@uts.edu.au
Website Add: http://www.dab.uts.edu.au

Faculty of the Build Environment – University of New South Wales (NSW)

Associate Professor Harry Margalit Affiliate RAIA
Head of Architecture
Faculty of the Built Environment
The University of New South Wales
SYDNEY NSW 2052
Ph 02 9385 4799 Fax 02 9385 4827
Email fbe@unsw.edu.au
Website Add: http://www.fbe.unsw.edu.au

6. Leads & Resources

Initial client leads can be generated primarily for UK client referrals and the Australian Yellow Pages.  Owned by UK company Yell, YellowPages.com.au has 5573 results for Architects in Australia.

To support candidate generation and part of the marketing branding strategy adverts can feature in the Architecture Bulletin and on architecture jobs boards as well as a strong Google Adwords presence.

Finally, the data acquisition team will build a list.  3000 – 4000 direct contact details for architecture professionals across the board will build solid market share.

Company Name Contact Name Title Email
Architectus Melbourne Gregory Strickland Architect ****
Baxter & Jacobson Architects Pty Ltd David Jacobson Architect ****
Broderick Architects Eamon Broderick Architect ****
Edgar Idle Wade Architects Philip Idle Director ****
Fulton Trotter & Partners Trotter Mark Robert Architect ****
Gresley Abas Architects Philip Gresley Architect ****
Kornweibel Armstrong Architects Stephen Anthony Parkin Architect ****
Payne Pattenden Architects Pty LTD Mario Chavez Architect ****
PMDL Architecture & Design Pty Ltd Peter Doddrell Director ****
Y2ARchitects Walter di Giangregorio Technician ****
7. Serviced Office Versus Virtual Office

It makes good sense to start business operations in a new country by way of a commitment that is as minimal as possible at the outset - in other words the term of any lease commitments should be kept as small as possible until a foothold is established.

Serviced office arrangement - Terms tend to be flexible and capable of being changed at short notice (for example to take additional office space, or to leave to occupy a longer term lease), and the office infrastructure is available immediately - all serviced offices should provide dedicated and personalised telephone and fax lines, voicemail, mail collection and delivery, secretarial services, photocopying, office furniture, etc. Many will also provide video conferencing and fast internet access. Quality of serviced offices is very good - and the costs on rent are reasonable.  Often a premium is charged for copying, printing etc.  Regus are the provider of choice - http://www.regus.com.au

One stage removed from the serviced office is a virtual office, allowing the smaller business to work from home or maintain an office address in Australia when actually overseas or interstate. A professional and efficient office presence is maintained through personalised telephone answering, mail acceptance and forwarding, use of office and boardroom facilities when required, etc.

NB. Having a business presence in Australia will mean registering with the tax authorities, and with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission.

8. Summary

The Australian architecture landscape is about 2/3s the size of the UK.  Leading practices are exported to do projects in South East Asia, Dubai & America much the same as UK practices.  The only real difference is the number of recruitment agencies specializing in Architecture – 2 and the number of job boards – 6.

The competition is not spending a huge amount of cash on traditional marketing methods so establishing brand recognition and identity will be simple.  Purchasing the candidate database directly from an Indian data acquisition company will create candidates and revenue potential.   With all of the provisions discussed in this study in place the success of the company in Australia will be measured by the recruitment consultant’s ability to generate rapport with clients.  Consider hiring an Aussie or two.
Bibliography

UK Trade & Investment - http://uktradeinvest.britaus.net/
Go Matilda - http://www.gomatilda.com
RAIA - http://www.architecture.com.au - http://www.archistaff.com.au
RAIA - Find an Architect - http://www.architecture.com.au/i-cms?page=3939
Australian Architects Directory - http://www.architectsdirectory.com.au
Architects of Australia - http://www.architectsofaustralia.com.au
Wikipedia - Australian Architects - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Australian_architects
Australian Architecture Association - http://www.architecture.org.au/

<END>

Darren Henwood
Director
HeirQ Marketing Solutions
darren.henwood@heirq.com
http://www.heirq.com

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a science. Having overseen and outsourced SEO functions for blue chip clients in Finance, IT, Retail, Pharma and Construction here are a number of simple considerations for marketing professionals overseeing SEO strategy.

Keyword selection is your vital first port of call. When meeting an SEO professional for the first time remember you know your business better than anyone else. Your SEO professional might display a sound understanding of SEO principles regarding traffic generation, popular key words and phrases, overture research, keyword selection tools, keyword density and keyword position but how does this relate to your revenue streams – that’s your call.

For example I recently inherited an SEO strategy for a specialist construction recruitment consultancy. Looking through the keywords that had been implemented by the SEO team to date I quickly realised a fatal floor. The simple search term ‘construction’ may generate the most traffic for the company but why optimize for such a loose term when a visitor searching ‘construction+jobs’ clearly represents a more direct lead for your organization. You know your business model, market place and target audience so trust your business insight – don’t get blinded by SEO ‘science’.

Exactly what am I paying for?

I like to ask myself this question from time to time. The answer should be a greater search engine presence and lead generation. There are a few simple tools you can use to address this – completing your own searches, using the Google link search feature, checking your ‘Google Page Rank’ etc but you’re paying a specialist to manage expectations so make sure your expectations are being met.

For me reporting at least once every two weeks is the main provision I want to see on any agreement. This gives you the opportunity to compare actual results with what you were pitched at the start of the campaign but also to analyse your SEO strategy against your competitors. You could also install a dedicated link for your SEO team to use to track actual results. Be sure to analyse the reports, run a few spot checks on the results. Remember you want to see your website moving up the search engine results pages. Why should you be paying for little or no progress especially at the start of your SEO strategy where scope for improvement is huge?

Review and analysis of your existing website and all of it’s pages and features is the second provision I look for. Part of this process will give you chance to run through your existing strategy to date and give your new SEO team the opportunity to demonstrate a sound understanding of how SEO fits into your overall marketing business model. Then your SEO team can put together a sound evaluation of what you have done well, where improvements can be made and their strategy moving forwards. Your web development team can then make any amendments (or total rebuild) to the website and/or website content, introducing meta tags and search engine friendly features based on these recommendations and your SEO team can set about the real bread and butter of SEO - back links & link trading.

Your SEO is now being managed effectively, your business expectations are being met but how does this strategy really move your business forwards.

Inside three months your website should be listed in the first 5 Google page results depending on the level of competition for keywords in your sector. This represents an excellent level of visibility for your product or service offering and if your new SEO team has done their homework with your help sales leads should start to filter through. For this type of business model it is easy to address the success of the SEO campaign i.e. how many more units have we sold since we introduced our new SEO strategy.

In addition your advertising service offering becomes a lot more appealing. If you are a community forum chances are your registered uses will increase, if you are selling advertising the level of exposure for your advertisers will be increased, if you are booking appointments or generating leads or raising money or distributing surveys – all benefit from increased exposure. The best way to really drive home SEO is to integrate into your service offering. I will use some examples.

If you are supporting the marketing of an online IT forum for business managers and you receive a good advertising lead from an supplier, say IBM for example chances are you are dealing with a tech savvy animal who will have specific questions regarding your forum i.e. number of visitors, relevant website audits, registered users, newsletter circulation etc. Providing you have a sound organic SEO strategy in place advertising on your website already represents 60% more exposure and better return on investment than most other forums in your sector. As your registered users and newsletter circulation continues to grow as does your quality of service an earning potential.

You might be supporting the marketing for a jobs board for architecture practices. Assuming these guys have an excellent eye for design and building regulations and care little for the intricacies of SEO – exactly how does your new SEO strategy add benefit to your service offering to them and how do you communicate it to architecture practice decision makers. The simple answer is a more prominent position on search pages, means more relevant architects looking for work on your website and greater exposure for the simple and unique factors that make your architecture practice the best for qualified architecture professionals.

A with most other marketing initiatives it is crucial to make sure your SEO is being managed effectively and generating the results you set out to achieve. The result is active lead generation and increased after sales assurance for all of your leading clients.

Darren Henwood
Director
HeirQ Marketing Solutions

darren.henwood@heirq.com
http://www.heirq.com

Google Adwords is a pay-per-click (PPC) program for advertising on Google. Advertisements appear on the right hand side of the Google Search page for chosen keywords and key phrases. This report examines the benefits to the sales process and resulting traffic benefits for the Online Community ABC.

Contents

1. Introduction
2. Current Keyword Listing
3. Sales Process Benefits
4. How Much Does Google Adwords Cost?
5. Summary

1. Introduction

Google Adwords is a pay-per-click (PPC) program for advertising on Google. Advertisements appear on the right hand side of the Google Search page for chosen keywords and key phrases. This report examines the benefits to the sales process and resulting traffic benefits for the Online Community ABC.

2. Current Keyword Listing

The appendix contains a full break down of all keywords / key phrases being used and the resulting Google Adwords position for the Online Community ABC. These key words have been selected after an in-depth key word analysis to determine which will offer the most prominent position on Google and the most traffic.

3. Sales Process Benefits

Parent Company A has the data resources to generate upwards of 30,000 visitors per month. To generate a similar level of relevant visitors solely using Google Adwords would cost in the region of £10,000 per month per project. As a method for traffic generation this rules Google Adwords out as a financially viable option.

However, with a carefully researched Adwords strategy there are benefits to be had. The attached appendix highlights the position each project website appears in for each keyword search. This creates a level of visibility online which is important in raising search engine profile and establishing credibility as an online resource.

When the sales team is pitching a consultancy firm with a core competency for advising in financial risk they can direct the decision maker to the Sponsored Google Link for Online Community ABC currently residing in position 5 for key words ‘risk+financial’. This demonstrates a commitment to driving targeted traffic directly relevant to the potential advertiser.

4. How Much Does Google Adwords Cost?

For the purpose of evaluation we have allocated a £5 daily spend for each project. For Online Community ABC the average cost-per-click is £1.36. After 3 clicks our daily budget is exhausted and our adverts disappear. Large financial institutions have driven up the cost-per-click for these keywords. However, it is still possible for Online Community ABC to achieve a comparative good listing against other advertising driven projects of which there are very few.

Online Community 123 has an average cost-per-click of 38p. For the £5 spend per day Online Community 123 gets 15 click throughs. This illustrates that it is much, much cheaper to establish a huge online presence with relatively small spend for a HR related project.

5. Geography

Google Adwords give the option to create country specific Google Sponsored links. Currently, Parent Company ABC’s £5 per day spend creates adverts only seen in the US. This creates a level of visibility for potential advertisers but the sales teams cannot communicate the benefits because they cannot see it. For projects managed and sold on different sides of the Atlantic creating visibility for both is crucial to drive the sales process.

6. Summary

For continued evaluation, I recommend increasing the daily spend for Online Community ABC and changing the geographical region to US and UK for a period of 5 working days.

This will facilitate a daily conversation between the sales team and to demonstrate benefits of Google Adwords and potentially integrate into the sales pitch.

Darren Henwood
Director
HeirQ Marketing Solutions
darren.henwood@heirq.com
http://www.heirq.com