tips on how to use new Google Adwords interface

Have you seen the new interface for Google’s Adwords? Google gives lots of goods tips on how to use Adwords in six easy-to-follow videos.

And if you haven’t used Adwords at all, here’s an introduction to the basics.

three ways to quickly compare your site with your competitors’

Easily compare sites’ social media presence, traffic and Google rankings with some great free tools, suggests Ann Smarty (great name!) at Search Engine Journal.

seven key steps to keeping afloat in a recession

Helpful article from the NZ Herald here looking at how to survive a recession, with tips on cashflow, debt restructuring, customer care, staff and stakeholder communication, and more.

And also from the Herald, marketing in tough times – how to avoid waste.

And from the National Business Review: ‘In a prolonged recession, what is the best strategy for business survival?‘

make it easy for the customer and make it cheap

Some good lessons here for small online businesses from one of the superstars of online trading: Amazon is making healthy profits in hard times. Its motto: Make it easy for the customer and make it cheap.

As well as value, Amazon also offers convenience and greatly improved delivery times.

how to make your online and offline business gel

Barkers Men’s Clothing’s two-year-old e-commerce website has boosted business and also nicely complemented the business of its 26 ‘bricks and mortars’ stores. It’s a good little case study:  Get the full story here.

Highlights

• They try to ensure the homepage mirrors the look of the shops.
• They research similar online businesses to find good online business models.
• Google Analytics plays an important role in monitoring the site’s effectiveness.

how to make money from online communities

A bunch of Kiwis have set up a growing online community (based to start with in England) around cycling for charity and have pulled some impressive sponsors on board who recognise the value of the community.

To build a self-supporting community, they recommend:

• Understanding the profile you’re helping your community members build – make it something they’re proud of.
• That every action in your community, is an opportunity to promote, add life and currency to your community.
• Knowing the goals of your community and the numbers or metrics that define your community’s success.

how to track yourself on the web

Here’s eight useful tools for tracking mentions online of you and your business. If people are talking about you, your products, your service, whatever, you surely need to know about it. These days, it’s a key tool in your management and PR toolkit.

how to – the social media guide

Here’s a great set of ‘how to’ guides for all things social media.

How to do almost anything Web 2.0; plus some useful but decidely non-social media others: including how to raise money in  a recession; and how to simplify your business.

A good information resource for businesses to browse through. Thanks Mashable!

four web businesses amongst top Kiwi start-ups

To see what is hot in the e-business space right now, check out four of New Zealand’s top start-up companies for 2008 — four web businesses praised for their strong ideas and great execution.

Here’s an article explaining them, and below are links to their websites:

Bookhabit – an online book store with an innovative business model for self-publishers
Endemic world – an online design store for N ew Zealand products
Unimarket – an online (SaaS) multi-tenant eProcurement solution
Celsias – a website that helps people and organisations do practical things to combat climate change.

e-business kit for tourist operators

From the Aussies, but full of good all-round information, here’s an e-business kit for tourist operators with everything from the basics of setting up a website; search engine optimisation; an initial assessment of your current online marketing status; how to attract people through online marketing; understanding online customer reviews; online booking systems; plus  much more.

Tons of information; much of it good for all types of e-businesses, in fact.