VAT Changes and Ecommerce Systems

So the Government has decided to decrease VAT to 15% in a bid to stimulate the economy and in turn help businesses...

Am I the only one of the opinion that in the short term (and lets face it, these measures were implemented with the short term in mind) this change will actually cause even more problems for smaller business running online stores?

Why is this? Well many ecommerce stores (especially older ones) have the VAT rate fixed in the system - so now the Government has effectively given these business less than a week to get this technical issue sorted. This means they have to get in touch with their web developers and potentially spend a lot of money sorting this out! The only winner in this scenario is the web developer and even then, with lots of clients suddenly needing a big change without time to book it in, headaches will abound in the next week.

Why was the cost and inconvenience of this change not taken into consideration? The main difference between VAT and other forms of tax is that it relies on the VAT registered business collecting the tax from the customer on the Government's behalf. A simple 2.5% change will require all sorts of manual and automated systems being changed - and for many small business already up to their eyes in bureaucracy this is just one more thing they could do without - at potentially their busiest time of year.

To make this worse it all changes back again in 13 months time!! So we have to undo what we have just done.

I hope, along with pretty much other one else, that these new tax cuts stimulate the economy, but what a pain in the backside this will be for many in the meantime!!

The All New Google SearchWiki is now LIVE!

Have you noticed the subtle change that occurred today on Google searches? If you have a google account and you are logged in then it is all change on the Google.

Google SearchWiki is here. So what is search Wiki? Well it allows you to start having control over the results you get when searching. You can add website, remove website and comment on website in your search.

It is not clear at this stage why Google has done this, but you can be sure as eggs is eggs Google does indeed have a plan up it sleeve. I believe this is the next step in Googles quest to provide the most relevant information to the searching public. If you were not aware, Google is rumoured to be favouring local searches - that is if I am a looking for a plumber and I am carrying out my search from Newcastle, then the results on the search will weight the results to websites that are Newcastle based plumbers - so the results will be different to someone in Ipswich carrying out the same search.

What I believe Google are now starting to do is collect information from the people doing the search who will rank and comment on sites that are important to them and Google will put a weighting on this.

All very interesting.

Full Internet Marketing Partner Services UK

Mancala have just launched a new service to traditional marketing agencies. We are now offering Full Internet Marketing Partner Services in the UK.

Now the 'R' word is being knocked about by economists and bankers (I personally hate the word because as soon as it is said too many people become negative and it becomes self fulfilling - but I digress) it is clear that traditional marketing agencies are beginning to feel the pinch. Why? well their clients want to know exactly what the marketing and advertising money is being spent on and traditional methods do not accurately give you that. Internet Marketing can give that and more and more business (from the enormous blue chips to the smallest one man band) are using the Internet to find their customers.

We already have some big names on board. If you run a marketing agency but don't have the Internet marketing skills - never fear - talk to us, we can offer this as white label service so your client need never know, or we partner with you. Please check out the page on the website

http://www.mancala.co.uk/Services/Full-Internet-Marketing-Partner-Services-UK.mspx

Launch of our Internet Marketing DVD

By popular demand we have finally got round to launching our very own Internet Marketing DVD. The DVD includes a two hour presentation on how you can make your business a success of the internet using out straight forward techniques.

If you cannot attend one of our Internet Marketing seminars but want to get significantly more success from your website the I would recommend the small investment of £27 including VAT to buy this DVD. Not only that, if you implement some of the ideas in the DVD and you improve your business success online then we offer a no quibble money guarentee!!

The DVD is not for everyone - it does require the commitment from you to implement some changes to how you run your website. It is for those who are looking for a massive change in fortunes online.

You can order now at the Mancala Website.

Search Engine Optimisation - SEO Newcastle

Here at Mancala we don't just specialist in SEO in Newcastle. Of course SEO is a big part of Internet Marketing, but don't be fooled that it is everything to do with Internet Marketing.

Ask yourself this - if I drive a lot of traffic to my website is that enough? Well I will help you out if you are struggling to answer this. NO if is definately not enough. Have a think about how you are going to convert these extra visitors to leads or sales - most website are bad to woeful at doing this.

Download my podcast on Internet Marketing where I give some real tips on how you can generate leads from visitors.

Car Finance and Car Loans

We have a new client on board who has a slighly left of centre approach to car finance and car refinance.

Did you know that if you own your car you could use car refinance instead of taking out a loan - you are using the equity in your car to raise money. Of course in a time when it is difficult to get a loan from a bank this could prove rather useful to some.

For those of us who have good credit ratings they will also guarantee to beat any reasonble quote on the marketing for car loans or car finance.

Check them out. IFA Car Finance.

Check the Car Finance blog

The Enterprise Show 2008 - For those out there wanting to start a Business

The last couple of weeks has seen us taking our Internet Marketing seminars out on the road. The Enterprise 2008 shows organised by Business Link in the North East has been starting to make its way around the region in a bid to encourage more people to set up their own business venture. Of course we at Mancala are right behind this - so much so that at most of the venues we are running FREE Internet Marketing seminars.

We have already run these seminars at Newcastle (St James Park) and Middlesbrough (Teaching and Learning Centre) and I've got to say it has been fantastic. I think it is fair to say that people looking to start out in business these days are much more savvy than maybe I was 7 years ago when I first thought about going it alone. Firstly, they know that Internet Marketing is the way forward when you have a limited marketing budget and secondly there is so much more advice and guidance from people who have been there and done that which was less forthcoming a few years ago. Of course what these guys are hungry for is how they can do a lot of this themselves and that is where our two seminars has hopefully helped and meant there are a few less pit for them to fall into.

Everything you need to know about Internet Marketing, 40 minutes on the essentials of Internet marketing. This was a 'what you need to know' guide to setting up your first successful Internet marketing campaign. It about how you convert the visitors to your website into leads or sales, and of course how to keep marketing to them.

Then there was Driving Traffic to your Website, which was a 'what it does on the tin' guide to getting qualified, lead generating visitors to your new website.

The feedback from these seminars was fantastic and I am looking forward to the next Enterprise Shows at Alnwick Garden (8th November) and Durham Cricket Club (22nd November). If you are around any of those days come along - the show is free and if you come to our stall or seminar there is an opportunity for you to enter a draw for an iPod Nano just for signing up to our newsletter. Can't say fairer than than.

Deryck