If you haven't heard about it by now... where have you been?! This friday (the 29th April), we'll see the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton, a glorious event that has kindly given the working men and women of England a day off of work!

However, whilst the employed are rejoicing at the thought of a day of partying, barbecues and relaxation, businesses are expecting mixed results this week.

The opinion seems to be fairly divided, with many claiming that the wedding will drive millions of pounds into the economy through tourism, whilst others claim that businesses will lose millions as their staff pull sickies for the three days between the two long weekends. An accountancy firm named RSM Tenon have warned that the loss to an average British business for every bank holiday could be as much as 6-billion, so who knows what effects this event could have on the UK economy.

There has always been the long-running argument as to whether the Royal household spends more money than it generates, but the 2010 Royal Public Finances Document shows that around £38 million was spent on the royals, where VisitBritain claims that the British Monarchy "generates well over £500 million a year from overseas tourists."

While we won't truly know the effect of the Royal Wedding until long after the event has happened and everyone has returned to their day-to-day lives and jobs, we should just relax, have a good day and celebrate the unity of our future monarchs!

Back in the 90’s, a revolution started. A revolution that’s speed and adoption impacted the world quicker and with more long term bearing than any previous transformation of the world’s technical landscape. Of course I’m speaking about the Internet. Yes, I guess we can debate my assertion, I guess we could discuss how the invention of electricity was a bigger and more important an event and that it was needed to facilitate the Internet, but hey, this is just a blog post, so a little poetic license please.

Anyhow, now almost 20 years on the landscape is ever growing but equally changing. Currently there are approximately 1.8 billion desktop based Internet users worldwide, this is compared to a massive 4.6 billion mobile Internet users. More than double the audience is on the move and statistics also show us that mobile users are more engaged.

Mobile phones, smartphones and mobile devices such as iPads are all being embraced by an ever increasingly diverse demographic of individuals. Whether they are waiting for a bus or perhaps a meeting, or just sitting in front of the television at night, these devices have their users more engaged because they are more accessible. They no longer need to wait until they get home to get access to their PC or Mac. Their iPhone, Android handset or tablet is accessible and instantly available. Hence, mobile Internet browsing is normally longer than desktop browsing sessions.

The future doesn’t look like its going to change either. Matt Brittin, Managing Director of Google UK, says that research indicates that in the year 2020, there is going to be an estimated 5 billion desktop based Internet users compared to a huge 10 billion mobile users.

Hence my question: “Shouldn’t we rename the Internet to Mobinet?”

Good job we can build side-by-side websites for Desktop and Mobile users!

We've got 5 copies of our Beginning Internet Marketing DVD to give away! The DVD takes you through how to make your site search engine friendly, how to get it indexed and provides a fantastic resource for any internet marketer!

For your chance to win one of these DVDs, all you need to do is post a comment on this blog article outlining how you would increase a Facebook Profile's coverage, make it more appealing and/or increase the number of 'Likes!' The best five comments will get a copy of the DVD!

So, what are you waiting for?

I met with an old friend, soon to be client, the other day at his shop. The guy’s been running retail shops longer than I’ve known the meaning of retail. Anyhow, he really knows his stuff; he was telling me that he moved one of the cash desks the other day because there wasn’t enough space for customers to get through, plus if he moved it to the lower left corner he could get another 2 sets of shelves in etc, etc…

While telling me all of this he notices a small mark on a carpet tile, I’m not kidding, 10 feet away! "We need to get that cleaned or replaced" he barks while pointing at this dot! Anyhow, I guess his attention to detail and knowledge of his domain was really impressive to me, he has retail in his DNA.

The flip side to this is his website, not quite the same authority at all. Misshapen images, products with no descriptions or very poorly written ones. Categories duplicated and in some areas over 5 levels of navigation. And don’t get me started on the checkout process! I mean, does he want to sell anything? "Am I adding to basket or to the cart? Are they the same? I don’t know, let’s see! Ah, what’s this, I need to login first, ok, I’ll create an account then. Why exactly do you need my credit card to allow me to add something to my basket? I mean cart! Oh, whatever!"

But that’s not the worse part at all! Search good ol' Google for his business name, and his website comes below the fold at position 6 or 7. We can only guess his products are visible to the "page 10 brave".

The shame of it is that we see this kind of situation so often. Experienced business people that understand their realm of commerce so well, but when it comes to launching their Internet empire, they are convinced they can do it alone, with no prior experience or guidance. However, that in itself is not the issue. I’m all for self development and taking responsibility for your business’s progression. However, this is not the case. None of these sites are updated or have had any attempt made to make them better. The same problems exist online and offline, if someone has a bad experience in a shop, they are likely not to return and, online, the same applies.

Those old-school retailers with retail DNA coursing through their very being, need to find a way to have the Internet DNA spliced with theirs. And until they can, they need to find someone, or some- team, that can truly drive their online ambitions home.

It isn't quite the hot topic of the month being shouted from every street corner, but it certainly is a question that we hear being asked.

A Virtual Office is, to put it simply, an absolutely fantastic way for small businesses, sole-traders, freelancers and the self-employed to further their business at a fraction of the cost.

Here's the lowdown; say you're a small business or a one-man-show, and you're having difficulty keeping up with your phone calls. You're out at meetings, or doing jobs, and clients are going through to your mobile's answer phone all the time... Not a good image. This is where a Virtual Office comes in. For a very low price, you can have any regional number set up (an 020 for London, for example) and use this number for your business. Clients can then call this number, and will be put straight through to a 'Virtual Receptionist,' who will answer the call in your company name, and then either direct the call as necessary, or take a message.

Cool, huh?

Well, that's not just the end of it... There's a whole range of other features that Virtual Offices provide. For instance, you can pretty much 'set up' at a complete new location for the price of a cup of Costa coffee per day! OfficeFront, a Virtual Switchboard Service provider, offer a Virtual Office package that contains call handling, a London office address and a lot more for under £2.50 a day!

It's definitely worth considering, especially if you're a smaller business...

Companies are always eager to nose-dive into Social Media.

If you're a small business owner, a Facebook or twitter account seems like a fantastic idea; a free utility in which you can advertise to a seemingly endless number of potential customers and clients. A nice product push here, and a little awareness-raising competition there, there's no end of ways to communicate and engage with your market.

However, as with the majority of free things, there's a downside.

Imagine, if you will, a potential client is in the market looking for a piece of software. There are two small, independent software developers (we'll call them A and B) offering similar software that this new potential client is looking for, and they both use Facebook to interact with their community.

Now, here's the scenario:

• Both websites sell their software at the same sort of price.
• Both are similar pieces of software.
• Both have FAQs, a forum and such on their sites.
• Software Developer A has a bustling Facebook page, over a thousand 'Likes,' comments, pictures, videos and regular comments.
• Software Developer B has a desolate Facebook page, 11 'Likes' and a handful of comments from 8 months ago.

Who would you choose?

I don't know about you, but if I, personally, was looking for a piece of software and presented with this scenario, I'd almost definitely go for the developer who has the active Facebook page. Why? Because it shows commitment, and, more importantly, it presents another useful way for me to get help and network with other users of the software.

The moral of the story is that, in our eyes, no Facebook page is better than a quiet, unattended, old and unused Facebook page. Why? It's the image it presents.

When you're setting out to gain some footing in the social networking community, stop, have a think, and decide whether you do in fact have the time and resources to invest in a social media platform, and treat it as any other project. Invest your time and efforts accordingly, and don't let it fall by the wayside.