Funding for Lancashire-Based Businesses

Thinking of promoting your company? Did you know that there are currently growth vouchers available for Lancashire-based SME businesses? If your answer is no then it’s a good idea to read on as these vouchers may save you thousands of pounds!

What are the Growth Vouchers?

The vouchers are part of a financial support programme. The minimum value of a voucher is £1000.00 however, the business must be able to match the contribution provided i.e. you would only receive a voucher with the value of £1000.00 if the value of the project was £2000.00.

The aim of this scheme is to support and help the growth of Lancashire businesses.

What can the vouchers be used for?

The growth vouchers cannot be used to purchase office equipment (such as laptops, furniture, machinery etc.) but can be used for the following: –

• Development/re-development of a website
• Support with branding/marketing campaign
• Payment for specialist technical expertise
• Development of key business software

Who is eligible to use the vouchers?

Your company must be based in the county of Lancashire to qualify for the scheme.

The scheme is also only available to business-to-business focused organisations that have less than 250 full-time employees and a turnover of less than £40m.

If you want more information about the Growth Vouchers, or want to chat about promoting your company, then please don’t hesitate to call us for a FREE chat on 0800 014 8030 and we will be happy to advise. Alternatively, email us at *protected email*.

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source http://www.fertilefrog.com/funding-for-lancashire-based-businesses/

Google is Given 90 Days to End its Anti-Competitve Practices

Google have been hit with the largest fine the European Commission has ever imposed.  It has been deemed that Google has abused its power to promote their own paid ads within Google search results.

What has happened?

The EU fine was £2.1bn, but it could have been £70.8bn (10% of annual revenue)!

If Google Shopping is not changed within 90 days, it could be facing a fine of 5% to its entire parent company’s ‘Alphabet’ average daily worldwide income.

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, current have in excess of $172bn of assets. The fine is not a concern to them, but the future strategies of Google will be a primary concern for the company.

Google have promoted paid shopping ads, making them more visually appealing and dominating their high positions within the search results for paid customers.   The more a user pays for a shopping ad, the more visibility the ad gets in the search results (amongst other more complex algorithms).

For the past seven years the European Commission has been investigating Google Shopping.

The complaints are said to be raised by Microsoft and other companies.

 

Quotes taken from the BBC News:

“An entire industry has suffered because of Google’s unlawful, anticompetitive behaviour, and it has become a genuine struggle for survival for the likes of [us],” the chief executive of Kelkoo Richard Stables told the BBC.

“At the same time, Google’s abuse has raised costs for merchants, and it has meant higher prices for consumers and much more limited choice.”

“What Google has done is illegal under EU antitrust rules,” declared Margrethe Vestager, the European Union’s Competition Commissioner.

“It has denied other companies the chance to compete on their merits and to innovate, and most importantly it has denied European consumers the benefits of competition, genuine choice and innovation.”

 

What could this mean going forward?

The EU Civil Service could look at how Google gives precedence to Google maps, flight price results and most importantly, the way local business listings are displayed within the search results when using Google.

 

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-40406542

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source http://www.fertilefrog.com/google-given-90-days-end-anti-competitve-practices/

Fertile Frog Wins Bolton Wanderers FC Logo Competition!

Our in-house Graphic Designer Matt entered the Bolton Wanderers logo competition with his friend Tom Walsh to commemorate the 20-year anniversary of their stadium.

After a couple weeks of waiting we got an email back to let us know that we had been shortlisted for the final 6 logos. Bolton Wanderers FC received over 100 entries for the competition to win two season tickets for the 2016/17 Sky Bet Championship campaign.

The winner of the competition will also see their design on next season’s ticket stock, season cards, programme cover and various other marketing collateral as Bolton Wanderers celebrates 20 years at its home.

Take a look at the final 6 logos that supporters had to choose from:

 

 

With a total of 45% of all the votes, we won the competition… In fact we smashed it!

Our design will now feature on the club’s marketing material for the 2017/18 Sky Bet Championship campaign, including season ticket cards, ticket stock and the match day programme. Keep your eyes pealed over the next season to see if you can! Final logo below:

 

 

 

First Stage:
https://www.bwfc.co.uk/news/2017/may/club-launches-logo-competition-for-20-year-stadium-anniversary/

Shortlist:
https://www.bwfc.co.uk/news/2017/may/logo-competition-shortlist-announced/

Final Announcement:
https://www.bwfc.co.uk/news/2017/may/logo-competition-winner-announced/

The post Fertile Frog Wins Bolton Wanderers FC Logo Competition! appeared first on Fertile Frog.

source http://www.fertilefrog.com/fertile-frog-wins-bolton-wanderers-fc-logo-competition/

7 Ways To Promote Your Business Using Pinterest INFOGRAPHIC

Over recent years we have found that Pinterest has become a powerful marketing tool to build brand awareness and drive traffic to your website. Every day millions of users pin and search for content and images based on their interests.

This powerful social network can be somewhat underrated, when in essence it only enhances search engine optimisation. When considering Pinterest for SEO, the process isn’t as difficult as you may initially think. SEO with Pinterest is all about utilising a simple, strategic process.

The following infographic highlights our top 7 tips on ways to promote your online business using Pinterest.

 

The post 7 Ways To Promote Your Business Using Pinterest INFOGRAPHIC appeared first on Fertile Frog.

source http://www.fertilefrog.com/7-ways-promote-business-using-pinterest/

Is Your Website Mobile Responsive?

60% of potential customers use their mobiles to find you!

Do you have a company website that is not optimised for mobile phone users? You could be potentially missing out on a large percentage of customers who visit your website on their mobile, but then leave because they find the usability difficult to find what they need.

Please take the time to view your companies website on a mobile phone and check it is:

1. Easy to browse & navigate
2. Uncluttered
3. Telephone numbers ring when tapped
4. Products / services are simple and clear
5. Fast to load
6. Layout adjusts to the screen size (responsive)

If you would like a free health check on your website’s mobile performance. Contact us at www.fertilefrog.com and let us give your website a professional health check.

Reference: https://www.thewebmaster.com/seo/2017/may/2/60-percent-online-searches-mobile-devices/

 

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source http://www.fertilefrog.com/is-your-website-mobile-responsive/