Instantly Jumping To Conclusions

Instantly Jumping To Conclusions – Week In Review

Written on September 11, 2010 – 6:16 pm | by Michael Harris

If your business relies on search engine traffic then this week could have been a nervous one for you. Wednesday saw Google launch a new user interface which refreshes the search results displayed as people type in the search box – they call it “Instant“, others in the industry have described it less endearing terms.

Seconds after launch people have been guessing the impact that it will have on their and their clients’, web traffic. The first thing to check, however, is how your brand is displayed and which other words they associate with you – and then take remedial action if required. After that you should do what most businesses should do in a changing environment – gather data, assess, and develop reasoned conclusions before making any knee-jerk reactions to how you now “optimise” your website.

We’re Doomed

It’s predictable that many would over-react by saying “SEO is dead” and comming out with rubbish regarding how business owners should respond. Just relax as the impact of this new Google feature will differ depending on which industries you operate as how people find your services with differ from one to the next.

No Change

And from “all change” to “more of the same”. The Monetary Policy Committee have decided to keep the base rate at 0.5% for a year and a half now. You don’t need us to state the obvious that there’ll be winners and losers, but one thing about the is that Angel Investment remains attractive for many that that wish to risk to obtain returns over the dismal rates offered by the high-street banks.

The Pawn Industry

A worrying feature of the credit crunch (are you fed up of that term yet?) is that it appears that many business are ‘turning to pawnshops‘ as banks close doors. Tell me it isn’t so! Related to this whole bank liquidity problem was a nice piece in the FT, featuring our good-selves of course, where our Co-Founder, Bill Morrow commented on the continual lack of funding from traditional routes in Asia if you’re a medium-sized company.

Angels Den In Asia

The FT also picked up on our move to bring the benefits of Angels Den and Angel Investment to a much wider audience in the Asian Market:

Angels Den has big expansion plans in Asia, moving into Hong Kong, Malaysia and the Philippines. It is already operating in Singapore. Mr Morrow says that while he has found eager investors in all those markets, he encounters many companies that have trouble thinking beyond their local bank when it comes to financing options. And the companies tell him the banks are reluctant to lend.

But if you’re a small business dreaming of global expansion, and haven’t got the funds to achieve this … then perhaps you should be attending our SpeedFunding or Free Funding Clinic events? What’s more they’re held regularly and across the UK as well as in Singapore on the 16th. What’s more, we can even host them in your offices.

Last Nights SpeedFunding Event In Words

And some reasons why you should attend:

‘ great event, wide variety for investors and good opportunities for entrepreneurs’ - Angel Investor attending last night’s SpeedFunding event.

And In Numbers

And for those that love cold, hard numbers … on average each entrepreneur had 4 angels interested to follow up, 90% of the entrepreneurs had two or more angels wishing to follow up, or for those that would like to know how good it can get – one entrepreneur had eight angels wanting to follow up!

Are you going to miss out?

Perfect Business!