The brainchild of Simon Rickett and Dillon Boivin, Activ Web Design is one of the fastest growing UK web design organisations, as well as one of the few truly British web design companies in the UK.

The two directors both had experience of selling websites to SMEs and, when the market became increasingly competitive some three years ago, they realised that a different strategy was needed to grab a share of the available business and ensure long-term stability.

After months of planning and hard work, Activ Web Design was launched. Three years’ more hard work later, the company has grown into the largest national web design company in the UK with their services also available in Spain, France and Australia.

Part of the secret of their success lies in a fixed, transparent pricing policy, while their innovative software has helped take the mystery and confusion out of web design, enabling ‘ordinary’ people to create their own sites.

A recent breakthrough for ... continue reading article.]]> Activ is a specialist provider of online marketing services for small to medium organisations in any industry with specific expertise in web design, email marketing, SEO and online advertising and content.

The brainchild of Simon Rickett and Dillon Boivin, Activ Web Design is one of the fastest growing UK web design organisations, as well as one of the few truly British web design companies in the UK.

The two directors both had experience of selling websites to SMEs and, when the market became increasingly competitive some three years ago, they realised that a different strategy was needed to grab a share of the available business and ensure long-term stability.

After months of planning and hard work, Activ Web Design was launched. Three years’ more hard work later, the company has grown into the largest national web design company in the UK with their services also available in Spain, France and Australia.

Part of the secret of their success lies in a fixed, transparent pricing policy, while their innovative software has helped take the mystery and confusion out of web design, enabling ‘ordinary’ people to create their own sites.

A recent breakthrough for Activ is their latest franchise package, Activ SEO. This is a natural progression for the company and its franchisees, helping create thousands of websites for small to medium sized businesses up and down the country and generating more traffic to the sites.

Having launched in the depth of a recession, Activ has defied the odds by seeing a turnover increase by 189% in just 2 years. Their success in the UK led to global expansion in the first 12 months and their long term target is to be established in fifteen countries within the next five years through franchising agreements.

Over the years I have spoken to thousands of business owners who have lots of tales to tell about their web designers, many of them negative!

From outright scams to poor customer service, the web design industry has seen its reputation tarnished over the years.

Here are a few examples of horror stories…

They built my website then told me I owed them another £2000 for extra work they had done and if I didn’t pay it they would take down my website, I was backed in to a corner.

They took my payment up front, made all the right promises but then failed to deliver, leaving me out of pocket.

The salesman did a great job telling me what a wonderful web design service they would offer but once I had signed on the dotted line it all went downhill, no customer service, nobody returning my calls, the list is endless.

As already mentioned, in any business or indeed any walk of life there are unscrupulous businesses and even out and out scams and the web design industry is no different but rest assured there are still lots of honest, reputable web design companies around who will ... continue reading article.]]> Web Design Scams

Over the years I have spoken to thousands of business owners who have lots of tales to tell about their web designers, many of them negative!

From outright scams to poor customer service, the web design industry has seen its reputation tarnished over the years.

Here are a few examples of horror stories…

They built my website then told me I owed them another £2000 for extra work they had done and if I didn’t pay it they would take down my website, I was backed in to a corner.

They took my payment up front, made all the right promises but then failed to deliver, leaving me out of pocket.

The salesman did a great job telling me what a wonderful web design service they would offer but once I had signed on the dotted line it all went downhill, no customer service, nobody returning my calls, the list is endless.

As already mentioned, in any business or indeed any walk of life there are unscrupulous businesses and even out and out scams and the web design industry is no different but rest assured there are still lots of honest, reputable web design companies around who will offer you a fair price, great product and excellent after sales support and ongoing advice.

Here at Activ Web Design we pride ourselves on the service we provide to our customers across the UK.

• Affordable, fixed price websites
• Transparent pricing
• A national network of local advisors
• An online support system as well as a phone number you can contact us on
• Fantastic value for money
• And most importantly…
• A website that works for your business!

We have hundreds of satisfied customers across the UK from hairdressers to restaurants, builders to golf clubs.  To read testimonials from our satisfied customers visit the testimonials page on Activ Web Design.

Want to find out what Activ Web Design can offer you to help grow your business online, get in touch now!

Activ Web Design are an award-winning business and have reached the finals of many prestigious business awards, recently winning the HSBC Start Up Stars International Business of the Year for the midlands region.

Activ Web Design, an honest, reputable web design company, not a scam, just high quality, affordable websites.

It was Monday morning and Simon came bursting into my office with his usual hyper bravado and typical Simon Rickett self-belief.

“Come on then Mr SEO, let’s have a bet…”

To which I replied

“A bet on what?”

Simon starts to get animated now…

“Well, as you are our SEO expert, here is a challenge…  I want to prove to you I can beat you at SEO and get a new website onto the first page of Google before you can!”

Hmm, an interesting challenge, getting a totally new website onto the first page of Google, I was up to the challenge and the rules were set…

… The scene was set

Now for the bet…

We agreed that the winner would get lunch bought by the other, the problem was we didn’t know how long it would take, it could be days, weeks or more likely months so we agreed that we would void the bet after a month!

Well get ready for this…

Simon Rickett doesn’t like losing, he rarely does… but face facts ... continue reading article.]]> Did I scam Simon Rickett!!!

It was Monday morning and Simon came bursting into my office with his usual hyper bravado and typical Simon Rickett self-belief.

“Come on then Mr SEO, let’s have a bet…”

To which I replied

“A bet on what?”

Simon starts to get animated now…

“Well, as you are our SEO expert, here is a challenge…  I want to prove to you I can beat you at SEO and get a new website onto the first page of Google before you can!”

Hmm, an interesting challenge, getting a totally new website onto the first page of Google, I was up to the challenge and the rules were set…

• First page of Google
• For a search term with over 2 million (yes I know we both like a challenge) results returned by Google
• With a BRAND NEW website on a BRAND NEW domain

… The scene was set

Now for the bet…

We agreed that the winner would get lunch bought by the other, the problem was we didn’t know how long it would take, it could be days, weeks or more likely months so we agreed that we would void the bet after a month!

Well get ready for this…

Simon Rickett doesn’t like losing, he rarely does… but face facts Simon, you LOST…

I got a BRAND NEW WEBSITE onto the FIRST PAGE OF GOOGLE for a search term with 2.5 million results (yes 2.5 MILLION) within 5 days!!!

Read it and weep Mr Rickett!

You can imagine the comments can’t you…

Simon Rickett: You Cheated

Dillon Boivin: I would never cheat, I know what I am doing

Simon Rickett: It’s a scam

Dillon Boivin: Scam, SCAM, face facts mate, you lost fair and square… Where is it for lunch next week?

Simon Rickett: Big Mac or Whopper?

Dillon: It could be a bag of crisps mate, it’s the winning that counts where Simon Rickett is concerned!!!

After finding out recently that Activ had been shortlisted for the ‘International business of the year’ regional category in this years HSBC Startup Stars awards I have now found out we have WON this category and I am really hoping we go on to great things in the national finals as well!!!

Check out the HSBC website here: http://www.startupstars.hsbc.co.uk/start-up-stars-finalists-2010

Fingers crossed!

What I want to talk about is a young guy who approached me the other day and asked about how he could make money on the internet, he knew about my experience in the online market and approached ME for advice.

As you can imagine, I get approached quite often but this time it was different, they guy really wants to learn, wants to make a go of running his own website to make money and has lots of ideas on how he can do this.

I have offered him my advice and guidance on what he needs to do to succeed in the highly competitive industry he wants to run his online business in but I wish him all the best and will be advising him every step of the way!

I will keep you posted on how things go for him in the near future.

Initially I thought he just wanted to jump on the internet bandwagon but I have seen a real desire in him and how he wants to succeed and learn along the way, good luck, you know who you are!!!

As ... continue reading article.]]> Today has been a good day for me on a personal note but I will discuss that another day!

What I want to talk about is a young guy who approached me the other day and asked about how he could make money on the internet, he knew about my experience in the online market and approached ME for advice.

As you can imagine, I get approached quite often but this time it was different, they guy really wants to learn, wants to make a go of running his own website to make money and has lots of ideas on how he can do this.

I have offered him my advice and guidance on what he needs to do to succeed in the highly competitive industry he wants to run his online business in but I wish him all the best and will be advising him every step of the way!

I will keep you posted on how things go for him in the near future.

Initially I thought he just wanted to jump on the internet bandwagon but I have seen a real desire in him and how he wants to succeed and learn along the way, good luck, you know who you are!!!

As the title suggests… ‘Never judge a book by its cover’

New search algorithms, re-indexing of websites, massive changes in website traffic and search rankings and now…

The new look Google

is upon us!

There are literally thousands of posts on SEO forums across the internet all talking about massive drops in traffic, loss of pages indexed by Google, affected search rankings, the list goes on.

What is of concern is that the sites suffering are the older, more established sites that Google has always held in high regard, sites with good PageRank, lots of indexed pages, good quality inbound links, the list goes on.

When Google makes changes it tends to affect less-established sites more but this time round it is the bigger, more established sites that are suffering.

We are not just talking about short-term losses in small percentages of traffic either, we are talking up to 90% losses for weeks and months, affecting some of the biggest online businesses in the World.

Example 1: A 13 year old website with a PageRank of 7 and 400,000 (yes 400 thousand) inbound links, has suffered a massive loss in traffic

Example 2: A website with a PageRank of ... continue reading article.]]> Over the last few months there have been lots of changes going on in the Google World.

New search algorithms, re-indexing of websites, massive changes in website traffic and search rankings and now…

The new look Google

is upon us!

There are literally thousands of posts on SEO forums across the internet all talking about massive drops in traffic, loss of pages indexed by Google, affected search rankings, the list goes on.

What is of concern is that the sites suffering are the older, more established sites that Google has always held in high regard, sites with good PageRank, lots of indexed pages, good quality inbound links, the list goes on.

When Google makes changes it tends to affect less-established sites more but this time round it is the bigger, more established sites that are suffering.

We are not just talking about short-term losses in small percentages of traffic either, we are talking up to 90% losses for weeks and months, affecting some of the biggest online businesses in the World.

Example 1: A 13 year old website with a PageRank of 7 and 400,000 (yes 400 thousand) inbound links, has suffered a massive loss in traffic

Example 2: A website with a PageRank of 6 and over 1 million pages indexed in Google loses 900,000 indexed pages in a DAY!!!

I could write a long list, but what is Google saying on the situation…

NOTHING

Talk on the SEO forums is that Google are staying tight-lipped because Google is ‘broken’ and they are rapidly trying to fix the new algorithm, there have been reports of Australia searches showing Scandinavian results, Adwords ads in the organic results, spam sites ranking higher than Wikipedia…

AND STILL GOOGLE SAY NOTHING

The general consensus is they are saying nothing because they don’t know what to say, they have rolled out these changes and in a ‘live’ environment they just aren’t working!!!

AND THEY ARE AFFECTING MANY PEOPLES BUSINESSES

But what can you do?

The advice is to keep doing what has worked in the past (as long as it doesn’t involve ‘black hat’ SEO), do not make any drastic changes to your site until Google has settled down and got back to normal, then assess things before doing anything drastic.

What is the talk of ‘long-tail’ keywords

Long-tail keywords are search terms that consist of 3 or more words and are what the larger sites with lots of content rely on for much of their traffic, these search terms are very specific, e.g.

Searching for a short-tail search term like

Books

Returns the home page of Amazon at the top of the search results

http://www.amazon.co.uk

Whereas searching for a long-tail search term like

Search engine optimisation books

Returns an Amazon page at the top of the search results that advertises specific books:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Search-Engine-Optimization-Hour-Day/dp/0471787531

Long-tail keywords give websites much more targetted traffic and increase the chance of user interaction with the site (e.g. making a purchase).

It is being said on many SEO forums that Google is changing the way it ranks sites for long-tail keywords, hopefully when an announcement is eventually made by Google on their new algorithm all will become clear on how to continue to optimise sites for ‘long-tail’ traffic.

There is already talk that to drive traffic through ‘long-tail’ searches you now need the search term in the specific order, e.g.

Lawyer London Injury

appearing on the page will drive less traffic now than

London Injury Lawyer

For the search term ‘London Injury Lawyer’ whereas this was not always the case before.

Only time will tell, in my opinion, keep doing what has worked for you in the past, keep an eye on how your site is performing and don’t do anything drastic YET!!!

To quote Google’s Maile Ohye

“…I think having a solid site: great content, good experience for users, descriptive page titles, standardized URL structure, etc., is of primary importance. A strong site is the foundation where you’ll likely make your online conversions…”

We all know business has been tough over the last 2-3 years and the ongoing recession has seen a record number of businesses closing but what is the chancellor looking to do to ensure that the backbone of industry in the UK, the small business, not only survives the recession but grows and flourishes as we come out of it.

Here is an overview of what The Budget is doing for small businesses as of 1.30pm on Wednesday 24th March 2010.

1 – Business rates are going to be cut for a year from October 2010, meaning a tax reduction for half a million small businesses in England.

2 – The annual investment allowance will be doubled to help new businesses get off the ground.

3 – Tax relief on capital gains tax increased for entrepreneurs.

4 – Increase by 15% the number of government contracts that go to small to medium sized businesses

5 – A £35 million university enterprise capital fund to support innovation and help graduates set up new companies is announced.

6 – £2.5 billion is pledged as  support for small business to boost skills and innovation

Up to now it all looks a ... continue reading article.]]> As the budget unfolds today what is there for small businesses.

We all know business has been tough over the last 2-3 years and the ongoing recession has seen a record number of businesses closing but what is the chancellor looking to do to ensure that the backbone of industry in the UK, the small business, not only survives the recession but grows and flourishes as we come out of it.

Here is an overview of what The Budget is doing for small businesses as of 1.30pm on Wednesday 24th March 2010.

1 – Business rates are going to be cut for a year from October 2010, meaning a tax reduction for half a million small businesses in England.

2 – The annual investment allowance will be doubled to help new businesses get off the ground.

3 – Tax relief on capital gains tax increased for entrepreneurs.

4 – Increase by 15% the number of government contracts that go to small to medium sized businesses

5 – A £35 million university enterprise capital fund to support innovation and help graduates set up new companies is announced.

6 – £2.5 billion is pledged as  support for small business to boost skills and innovation

Up to now it all looks a decent budget for small businesses, I would suggest a beer to celebrate but that’s about to go up by 2%.

Oh well, off to fill my car up before the fuel rises by 3p a litre, roll on the £2 a gallon!!!

The use of a video online can bring many advantages. It’s a great marketing tool and can have a real impact on the viewer. It combines the advantages of the “classic” TV commercial with the web’s most important characteristic: Interactivity.

An online video advertisement can result in a viewer becoming much more receptive to what you have to offer. It goes without saying then, that online marketing is much more cost effective than a regular TV ad would be, simply because it’s much less expensive to produce in the first place and it makes targeting the customer a lot easier too.

Benefits of Online Video Marketing

It’s a well known fact that these days people enjoy watching a screen (whether it be a TV or a PC) rather than reading. Information can be delivered at a quicker rate via images than through text alone.

One ... continue reading article.]]> The definition of the online video marketing concept is: A marketing strategy used by businesses to promote products and services, by making use of a short, informative video, to promote awareness to prospective customers about what the business has to offer. Online video marketing is a truly effective way to reach your prospective customers and of promoting your products or services.

The use of a video online can bring many advantages. It’s a great marketing tool and can have a real impact on the viewer. It combines the advantages of the “classic” TV commercial with the web’s most important characteristic: Interactivity.

An online video advertisement can result in a viewer becoming much more receptive to what you have to offer. It goes without saying then, that online marketing is much more cost effective than a regular TV ad would be, simply because it’s much less expensive to produce in the first place and it makes targeting the customer a lot easier too.

Benefits of Online Video Marketing

It’s a well known fact that these days people enjoy watching a screen (whether it be a TV or a PC) rather than reading. Information can be delivered at a quicker rate via images than through text alone.

One advantage that these online marketing videos have over other more traditional ways, is that videos can “get to the point” much quicker and therefore waste less of the prospective customers valuable time. Rather than a web surfer, who may be in a hurry, search over pages and pages of text to figure out the message you’re trying to convey, you can deliver that same message in a more attractive, effective manner and in far less time.

Online marketing videos can be used when a local business wants to promote one or more of its products or services. They reach the prospects in a visual way and because more and more people now turn to Internet to search for information, served up quick and fresh , online marketing videos are a natural next step to feeding the Web surfers need for information.

In Conclusion

Online marketing videos will give you the opportunity to convey your business message to people more effectively and efficiently than ever before. Use videos to let folks know how you differ from your competitors and to make yourself known and stand out from the crowd.

Upon deciding to use video as part of your marketing campaigns, you’ll soon discover it’s  much more interactive and compelling than some other types of advertising. It grabs the viewers attention easier and relays your message to potential clients in a much faster way than simple text alone.

Finally, ensure your online marketing video is fairly short in length, no more than a minute long. Web surfers can easily become bored and a long, drawn out video can drive them away from your site. These days people lead busy lives and don’t like to waste time. Also, don’t sell… inform, educate, enlighten!

I would like to congratulate Simon, my Co-Director, who has reached the shortlist (of 3) and hope he goes on to win this well-deserved award.

This is a fantastic achievement as these awards are national and well recognised in the business world. I am delighted we have reached this stage as it demonstrates all the hard work everyone is doing here is finally being recognised. I am very proud to be a Director of Activ.

Simon deserves to be shortlisted and in my opinion deserves to win, he is extremely determined, passionate about what he does and is one of the most astute businessmen I have ever met (and I am proud of what he has achieved). Simon is also a very good friend of mine and I wish him all the luck for the awards ceremony on 14th April, I will be there to support you! (Don’t forget to mention your co-Director in your speech lol)

Seriously though, I hope you win it Simon, you work damn hard and always do everything you can to help ... continue reading article.]]> I am delighted to announce that Activ have reached the finals of the Fast Growth business awards 2010 in the ‘Young Entrepreneur of the Year’ category.

I would like to congratulate Simon, my Co-Director, who has reached the shortlist (of 3) and hope he goes on to win this well-deserved award.

This is a fantastic achievement as these awards are national and well recognised in the business world. I am delighted we have reached this stage as it demonstrates all the hard work everyone is doing here is finally being recognised. I am very proud to be a Director of Activ.

Simon deserves to be shortlisted and in my opinion deserves to win, he is extremely determined, passionate about what he does and is one of the most astute businessmen I have ever met (and I am proud of what he has achieved). Simon is also a very good friend of mine and I wish him all the luck for the awards ceremony on 14th April, I will be there to support you! (Don’t forget to mention your co-Director in your speech lol)

Seriously though, I hope you win it Simon, you work damn hard and always do everything you can to help others succeed (whether it be staff or franchisees) and you deserve to be recognised, least of all because you are only 29 and have achieved so much!

Good luck mate

To find out more about the awards visit the Fast Growth Business Awards website

Activ, based in Leicestershire, are in the final three of the Awards’ New Business category which is sponsored by Leicester law firm Harvey Ingram LLP.

Founded by co-directors Dillon Boivin and Simon Rickett Activ have gone from strength to strength in a remarkably short period of time and now employs 25 people at its head office.

At a time when jobs are hard to find Activ continue to recruit. Specialist jobs in marketing will be available shortly.

Dillon Boivin said he was delighted Activ had made the shortlist  and was in with a good chance of securing an accolade in what have become Leicestershire’s premier business awards.

He added: “The Leicestershire Business Awards are very well respected among the East Midlands’ business community so it’s quite an achievement to be shortlisted, I am really pleased with our achievements and also want to congratulate our staff who work hard and deserve as much recognition as anyone in this achievement.

These awards always attract many high quality entries and it’s gratifying to have been recognised at this level.”

Open to businesses founded within the past five years, the New Business award category is ... continue reading article.]]> Young, expanding online business Activ have reached the shortlist in the prestigious Leicestershire Business Awards 2010.

Activ, based in Leicestershire, are in the final three of the Awards’ New Business category which is sponsored by Leicester law firm Harvey Ingram LLP.

Founded by co-directors Dillon Boivin and Simon Rickett Activ have gone from strength to strength in a remarkably short period of time and now employs 25 people at its head office.

At a time when jobs are hard to find Activ continue to recruit. Specialist jobs in marketing will be available shortly.

Dillon Boivin said he was delighted Activ had made the shortlist  and was in with a good chance of securing an accolade in what have become Leicestershire’s premier business awards.

He added: “The Leicestershire Business Awards are very well respected among the East Midlands’ business community so it’s quite an achievement to be shortlisted, I am really pleased with our achievements and also want to congratulate our staff who work hard and deserve as much recognition as anyone in this achievement.

These awards always attract many high quality entries and it’s gratifying to have been recognised at this level.”

Open to businesses founded within the past five years, the New Business award category is designed to encourage and reward young Leicestershire companies and organisations.

To be considered for an award, entrants must show that they have continued to progress their plans and developed a clear commercial understanding of their products, competitors and markets.

They must also demonstrate that they have set and achieved objectives within business plans while establishing a position of sustainable future profitability and success. The judges will also look at obstacles that have been overcome in managing the business including managerial and financial performance and potential future for growth.

Activ, which through its network of franchisees offers website design, online marketing and search engine optimization to small and medium sized businesses across the Britain and overseas, achieved turnover of £900,000 in its first year.

And with over 100 franchisees now operating in the UK, the business is now attracting licence holders in Spain, Ireland, France and Australia.

The business has also recently expanded into larger premises – taking a second office at Narborough Wood Business Park which has increased its total office space to 3,500 sq ft.

Dillon Boivin said response to Activ’s business model from both franchisees and small businesses looking for a cost effective and user-friendly website had been phenomenal.

He added: “Our strategy of recruiting franchisees form a business background rather than from an IT environment has been very well received.

“By putting together a simple jargon free web development package our franchise holders have secured business with literally hundreds of SMEs operating in sectors as diverse as retailing, childcare, sport, construction, plumbing, hotels and leisure.”

Now in their 17th year, the Leicestershire Business Awards culminate in a gala dinner at which the winners in all eight categories will be announced.

The event – a highlight of the Leicestershire business calendar – takes place on Friday April 23 at Leicester Tigers.

This year’s judges in the New Business category are Mairi Watson, a senior lecturer at De Montfort University Business School and John Astill, a corporate sales adviser with Oval Insurance Broking.