Iceland has certainly seen its ups and downs over the last several years because of its controversial decision to allow its banks to fail. Normally a country will protect its banking system above all else because of its strong ties to the overall economy. Still, it is amazing that Iceland has had such a fast recovery since this controversial decision. The economy has seen a return to financial norms within the last couple of months.

Fears Remain

Most are not worried about capital leaving because the restrictions that were in place are now gone. But there is some concern that the economy could be heating up again base around Iceland’s tourism and export industry that currently drives the economy. A decade-and-a-half ago Iceland was considered a great place to invest. Interest rates were high and growth was steady and the country was politically sound.

The problem came in 2008 when the biggest Banks collapsed. They had invested their money and assets into investments that were not liquid and when the world suffered from the economic crisis they were unable to recover. This caused investors to pull out their investments which then led to Iceland’s currency falling by over 40% of its value compared to the euro. This made imported items considerably more expensive and that fueled inflation that rose to double digits.

The Central Bank responded by raising its interest rates by a factor of 2, despite the fact their rates were already very high. This then led to reduced spending by the consumer and by the end of the year spending was down by 1/5. Some of these factors were offset by the fact that exports were made more profitable because of the country’s weaker currency. The economy was further helped by the increase in tourism and that industry became the top industry in the country.

Current Economic Outlook For Iceland

This year has exceeded all the expectations for growth in the economy particularly centered around the industry of tourism. In addition to tourism, the economy has been improving because of exports that are made more profitable by the countries weaker currency. But the krona is now gaining strength against other currencies which is reducing the profits made with exports. The government has made some proposals that could help to keep the currency from gaining strength.

Is The Country Growing?

There are many signs that the country is recovering and the overall consensus is one of optimism. One of the areas that is currently suffering, however, is the private sector. Private businesses find it very difficult to get loans which would allow them to grow. Those who want to buy a home find it very difficult to get approved for a mortgage and those who are approved suffer from the high-interest rates.

Many economists feel that despite some of the current difficulties, the achievements that have been accomplished by Iceland outweigh those difficulties. There are a number important moments in Iceland’s current recovery and one of those includes the plans to remove capital controls that were put in place back in 2008. This is believed to be an important factor in stabilizing the economy and returning it to a place within the global community.

The process will not take place rapidly, and to prevent too much capital from exiting too quickly, there is a 39% tax for those trying to do so. These and other steps are strongly expected to help the country’s overall economy. The changes that have been put in place help to encourage investors to keep their money in the country rather than pulling it out.

Simply put, PHP is a server-side language used in the creation of interactive web applications as well as dynamic websites. Server-side means that the scripts are not executed on the computer you are using but on the computer, the page was requested from. The results are subsequently handed over to the computer that you are using then displayed in your browser.

What Does PHP Stand for?

Initially, the acronym PHP stood for ‘Personal Home Page’ and Rasmus Lerdorf was its original creator. However, it now has the recursive acronym “PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor.”

What Is It Used for?

PHP was created for use in producing dynamic web pages when building websites. Since it was created back in 1995, it has visibly changed the scenario of web design development. Today, over 20,000,000 of web servers and websites use PHP as a server-side programming language. This is almost 75 percent of all the websites in the world. Website content management systems that use PHP include Moodle and WordPress, and even sites such as Facebook, Wikipedia, and many blogs. PHP is one of the most popular server-side programming languages in the world today.

Why Choose PHP for Web Design?

PHP is the preferred choice since it is an open source, free software that is used globally by website developers. PHP is the ideal choice when it comes to cheap web design. The PHP group has provided the complete source code that enables users to build, extend, and customize web design depending on their needs. PHP is fully compatible with most of the operating systems including Linux, OS X, Mac, and Lennox. Also, it does support most of the Web servers currently in use including IIS and Apache.

As a server-side scripting language, there is no need to install PHP, and it requires less processor space. Put simply, it means that it does not affect the speed of your system. With the flexibility found in PHP along with the user-friendly design, usability, and scalability, it makes for one of the most versatile languages for the creation of web pages. One of the most attractive features of PHP is that it is quite easy to use whether you are a professional programmer or a complete newcomer. With PHP, you can be writing simple scripts in a matter of hours.

Do you know some PHP, but not sure what level of skill you possess? Test your knowledge of PHP coding with a PHP online test.

PHP’s dynamic content for web servers allows for users to focus on the server-side scripting languages. PHP has created a command line interface capability which can be used for standalone graphics applications. Users of PHP are not limited to HTML output but can easily use any text, such as XHTML as well as other XML file formatting. Users of PHP also have the ability to include images of other types including Flash movies and PDF files. These can be generated automatically then saved in a system as opposed to having to be printed out thereby forming a server-side cache for the dynamic content of a user.

Using PHP makes it easy to maintain search engine friendly websites and avoid complex web searches that can confuse the search engines. This is very important for reaching your SEO marketing targets. PHP also helps in the optimization of the speed of web pages considering that processing happens on the side of the server as opposed to that of the user. It is also easy to embed PHP into a page or an extension. This ensures the visibility of whichever script is on a web page, unlike JavaScript which is not viewable if disabled on a computer.

If you would like to enjoy the benefits PHP offers you, contact a web developer to see how it can be integrated into your website.

Search engine optimization, though not quite as easy to do as it had been a mere five years ago, is still a fairly important element of the modern online business landscape. Putting the right words into your web site’s content and code can make a world of difference in how many clients can find your business at all, and being found is the first step towards being paid.

Being found in an ever rising sea of white noise is getting harder and harder, especially as online advertising becomes more expensive. It now nearly requires a PhD just to make paid advertising work. However, as more people get online, the fact is that online marketing is essential for a business to thrive in the modern world and search engine optimization remains a powerful way to market your brand’s identity in the digital realm.

However, knowing what search terms people are using to find your business can be quite important in knowing which search terms to put into your web site’s code and content. For example, if most people searching for a fried chicken restaurant are finding the place by searching for the search term “chicken wings” it is a good idea for that restaurant to put the phrase “chicken wings” into more of their web site’s content and code to try and become more relevant to search terms that are already working well for that business. This will bring in more visitors to a website, and with increased traffic and increased business for the company that is playing to its strengths in online marketing.

But learning what those search terms are is not an easy task. SEO reporting tools are an important element of knowing which search terms are helping clients find your website and other online marketing outlets. A well-designed SEO dashboard, with robust reporting tools, can make SEO management less complicated as it will provide insights on what search terms people are using to find your business. This information is also quite useful for knowing what your clients are focusing on, enabling the business running the website to focus their content more on that particular search term. In the aforementioned chicken restaurant example, the proprietors of that particularly eatery may wish to offer more sizes of chicken wings and create more blog posts involving their company’s chicken wings so as to draw more people looking for chicken wings online towards their company over others.

SEO reporting tools are important for learning what these terms are. Some of these tools, such as Google Analytics, are provided by the search engine companies themselves, intended to help business owners get a better idea of what type of online marketing is and isn’t working for their particular business. Some of these analytical services are free, but are not specifically focused on SEO reporting. Specialized SEO reporting software can be quite useful a business as it is specifically focused on finding out what search terms are working. If a business can manage to afford one of these programs without breaking their budget, it can be a good idea to invest in them.

Every business needs to build brand awareness to be successful. There are many different marketing tactics that can be used to accomplish this goal. Many of them are focused on the internet, such as using social media or video marketing. However, there are still many great tools outside of the web that can be used to build brand awareness.

After all, companies have been building brand awareness long before the internet even existed. Some of the same techniques that worked over half a century ago are still viable today. Billboards, radio, advertising on buses, and advertising on taxis. As a matter of fact, taxi advertising is still one of the best ways to build brand awareness if you live in a heavily populated city.

Why use taxi advertisement and which company should you rely on? These are important questions you should ask as a business owner. First, look at the many benefits associated with taxi advertising.

Benefit 1: Extremely Cost Effective

Of all the traditional advertising possibilities mentioned earlier, taxi advertising is easily the most cost effective. It may not be quite as cheap as placing a digital advertisement on a web page, but it is more likely to be seen by a great number of people in a busy city.

It is far more cost effective than placing advertisements on billboards, on the radio, and especially on the television. There is also very little work involved. You simply create the desired advertisement and then you work with a taxi advertising company to have the advertisements placed on taxis. Renting the space on the taxis is never expensive.

Benefit 2: High Visibility

Advertisements on the internet have the potential to be seen by a lot of people. That potential is not always reached. Taxi advertisements, on the other hand, are in front of crowds of people all day long. Anyone who moves about in a big city is going to see a handful of taxi advertisements before they can even cross the road.

These advertisements place your brand in front of thousands of people every day. This quickly and efficiently builds brand awareness. Next, people begin searching for you online or contacting you for services.

How to Plan Your Campaign

It should be obvious that taxi advertising is a great way to build brand awareness in a large city. The next question is how do you build a strong campaign for your advertisements? You can take a few cues from some of the market leaders. Ubiquitous Taxi Advertising, in London, has been in the taxi advertising game for a long time and have even pioneered many advances in this form of media, and have worked with clients of all sizes, including Microsoft and Vodafone.

One of their more interesting features called CabConnect was launched in 2013. It delivers free Wi-Fi to UK taxis. At the same time, it also delivers branded messages directly to the passengers of the taxi. The passengers get to enjoy free Wi-Fi, and companies get to place their message with the passenger at an extremely affordable price.

So your campaign may involve many different media, not just taxicabs. As many advertising agencies will recommend, combining multiple forms of media into your campaign can create a synergistic effect, where the effect of the result is greater than the sum of the parts.

Hiring an agency to coordinate the various elements of your campaign can give you the benefit of a multi-media marketing strategy. But for those businesses on a budget, many taxi advertisement agencies do have fairly developed in-house ad departments, who are expert at coordinating multi-media campaigns and media buys.

Are There Other Options?

Sure, there are plenty of options when it comes to media for branding your business. The important thing is to focus on your chosen form of media and fully explore the benefits it can offer. Although it is only one media option, a well-planned taxi ad campaign can help you drive your brand awareness off the charts!

If you’re a real estate agent, then you probably have excellent communication skills. You thrive in a person-to-person environment, giving you the opportunity to connect with prospective clients and get to know them at a more personal level. But to survive in today’s tough market, you must extend these skills to the online world. Leveraging social media can help you reach your target audience and grow your business. This guide will help you set up your social profiles to expand your real estate marketing efforts.

Choose The Right Social Channels

There are numerous social channels you can use, but not all of them prove to be worth your time. The best thing to do is to determine where your potential clients spend their time online. This entails experimenting a little bit until you find which platforms provide the best results. Also, keep in mind that different platforms require different strategies. What works on Facebook may not necessarily work on Twitter.

Set Up A Business Page/Account

One of the biggest mistakes most real estate agents make is in using their personal accounts to market their services. You don’t want to do this because it lacks professionalism. It’s much better to set up a separate business account. Not to mention, business accounts or pages usually have additional functionality which can prove useful in your promotional efforts. For example, a Facebook Page gives you access to insights and allows you to hold contests.

Stop Over-Promoting

This might seem counter-intuitive, but it can make a huge difference in your campaigns. If all you do is post things like: “homes for sale”

leading to your listings, your followers will start to lose trust in you. A good rule of thumb is to post 80% of your posts about customer interests, lifestyle in your neighborhood and other relevant information. The remaining 20% is all about your real estate services. This way, you can be better viewed as a credible and trustworthy agent in your area.

Also, remember that when posting your listings, do not hesitate to include important details such as the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, the address, key selling points and the price. However, do not simply enumerate. You should add a personal touch, like creating a story that enables prospective buyers to imagine what it’s like to own the property.

Engage With Customers

Think of the different ways you can engage with your audience. Online consumers simply love communicating with brands and service providers on social media. If you fail to respond to their questions or any feedback, this can be taken as a sign that you’re taking them for granted. Build a good reputation by answering their questions, addressing their concerns and providing assistance to help them come up with an informed decision.

By following these tips, you should be able to effectively leverage social media and get new clients. Remember that it isn’t all about shoving your listings in front of your followers. The key is in building genuine relationships with them, enabling you to earn their trust and increase the chances of them choosing you as their real estate agent.

LinkedIn isn’t a new social media website, but it’s still not as common as Facebook or Twitter. Heralded as the Facebook for businesses, LinkedIn makes it possible for a business to provide transparency in regards to their resume and also connect with potential new customers. In essence, it’s a social media website for businesses to connect with one another.

If you’re interested in LinkedIn as a resource, consider setting up an account today. It’s simple and free! After you’ve set up an account, use our tips to get the most out of this free but valuable resource.

Ten Tips for LinkedIn Users:

Completely fill out your user profile – If you don’t fill out your profile, you leave viewers wondering and guessing what exactly you do.Complete the profile as thoroughly as possible so you’ll leave no questions in your viewers’ heads.

Connect with others – Don’t be afraid to reach out to others. There’s enough business to go around for everyone. Even if you’re concerned about linking or following other businesses that do exactly what you do, if you reach out to them and establish yourself as trustworthy, the rewards can be beneficial.Who knows? Maybe your competitor will be overrun with business and might need to offload some clients onto someone else. Would you rather it be you or the next guy in line?

Establish a powerful presence – You can do this by creating compelling and valuable content on your account. Make sure you create valuable information that people will want to share or link back to.No one wants to share junk!

Tell people what you do – So you created your account and filled out your profile, short of reading your profile, will people know what services you have to offer or what exactly you do?If you answered yes, skip this section. If your answer is no, keep reading. If you haven’t done so already, create a service and a product page that is thorough and detailed. Tell your potential viewers what you do, and why they should consider you for their next project. Maybe consider attaching a ‘resume’ of sorts so you can show off some previous work.Don’t be afraid to a little cocky, people love confidence!

Create a ‘Careers’ page- Why? Because LinkedIn is quickly replacing job seeking sites with fervour. If you create a careers page and keep it updated regularly,You may find a hidden gem (an incredibly talented applicant) who meets your job description, who you would have otherwise overlooked.

Don’t be so full of yourself – We know, we told you to be a little cocky earlier; but don’t be so cocky that you won’t recommend or reach out to other companies who do the same thing you do.Remember our earlier tip about a similar company needing to offload excess clients? Well one of the best ways to gain access to these extra potential clients is regularly recommending other services that you think do a great job.Not only will this establish trust, it can also lead to more visitors to your website and profile!

Use SEO to your benefit – SEO is not dead; in fact, it’s very much alive! Despite having little control over LinkedIn, you can still SEO optimize your business pages and content so you can get the right visitors flooding your website.

LinkedIn is often an overlooked resource that can be used to enhance your web presence and also promote your business, whether it’s online or offline. It’s a free resource that doesn’t take much time to set up, so you shouldn’t waste time today. If you don’t know how to set up a LinkedIn account or need help, enlist our services to get you going in as short time as possible.