Member Blog

There’s no hiding the truth. SEO takes time. As much as it would be great to leap from the third page of Google to the first overnight, there’s no amount of wizardry that can make this happen. Instead, it requires a little patience and a lot of hard work to climb up the rankings.

The reason it takes time is that you need to prove to Google that you’re an authority and your site gives users what they want. This means building a technically impressive site that’s easy to use and full of helpful content. 

You’ll also need to establish links from trusted and relevant sites in your industry. These links effectively serve as respected organisations calling out to Google and saying ‘hey, look at these guys, they really know what they’re talking about!’. Once Google has listened to this shout, you should notice that you begin to creep up the rankings.   

But Why Do I Need to Be at The Top of Google?

Getting as far up the first page of Google is anything from a vanity project. Indeed, research has revealed that the first result for any given Google search will receive 32.5% of traffic whilst second place will get 17.6% and third will take 11.4%.

When it comes to searches concerning the products and services your business provides, you’re naturally going to want to take the lion’s share of the traffic.         

What Will I Need to Do?

The first thing you’ll need to do is make sure that your site is technically sound and setup correctly. You’ll need to ensure that each page is properly titled, the content is laid out with the approved heading structure, and you’re not overdoing it with your keywords. You’ll also want to make sure the site loads nice and quickly.  

Once you’ve got these foundations firmly in place, it’s time to set about building links and getting the right people to point to your site.

This process is something of an art form in itself and you’ll need to be certain that the sites you’re approaching are worth getting a link from. A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself how relevant the site you want a link from is and if its users will benefit from being directed to your site.

A good digital agency will be able to identify the true value of a link to your site and provide recommendations about the best ones to chase up.

How Long Will I Have to Wait for Results?

The time it will take for your site to reach the sweet spots will depend a lot on your industry. If you’re selling running shoes, for example, there will be a lot more competition than if you’re selling used xylophones. There’s no need to fear if you are selling running shoes, however, as there are still ways to speed things up. Creating engaging content, acquiring powerful links, and tightening up your site pages will all signal to Google that you’re an active and valuable resource for users.

Do You Have Any Proof of all This?

At Nu Image, we’ve been fortunate to work with some fantastic local businesses for many years. In the case of Norfolk Broads Direct and Broads Tours, we’ve been managing their SEO for over six years. During this time, we’ve enjoyed some impressive gains.   

Back in 2013, Norfolk Broads Direct attracted just over 50,000 users. Last year, it cleared well over 220,000 users. Over this period of time we’ve also seen organic traffic increase by over 1160%. In terms of sales, this led to a 69% rise in online bookings.

This certainly goes a long way towards illustrating the greater pay-offs that SEO delivers as time goes on.      

A key benefit of managing these SEO campaigns for a number of years is that we’ve collected a lot of data in that time. An awful lot of data, to be precise. From keyword performance to user behaviour, we’ve been able to monitor every aspect of the way the business operates online.  

This data has allowed us to better understand how users arrive at the site, what they do once they get there, and most importantly, how they like to place bookings.

Armed with this information, we’ve been able to optimise the sites and make them as profitable as possible. This is what we now do on a daily basis to continue directing new customers to the site.

How Can Your Agency Help Me?

We make no apologies for being huge SEO nerds at Nu Image. Obviously, our success hinges entirely on the success of our clients. Not until they’re rising up the rankings are we able to celebrate.       

Keeping up to date with the industry at large, we pride ourselves on adapting our strategies every time that Google decides to move the goal posts. Ultimately, this allows our clients to focus on the day to day running of their business whilst we make sure that new customers can find them online.  

If you or your business is looking to improve your SEO, get in touch with us today to find out how we can help.

We are delighted to be working with new price comparison website, Proper Finance. Following the success of our work with Choose Wisely, we were so pleased to be approached by the team at Proper Finance who are looking to compete in the competitive online loans and insurance space alongside players such as GoCompare, MoneySupermarket and Compare The Market. 

The Long Tail Approach

Offering our speciality of SEO, we proposed the idea to Proper Finance that the most competitive keywords are unlikely to be obtained within the first few months of working together, such as car insurance, personal loans and credit cards. Therefore, we presented the idea of the ‘long tail keyword’ approach whereby you target less competitive keywords with only a few monthly searches. However, if you start ranking for lots of these terms, you are able to successfully accumulate 3k, 5k or 10k visitors per month, within the first year. 

Beyond this, you take this traffic and build it up, sending following up emails to customers and creating a relationship with them – and before you know it, you are a recognised brand and competing well in the market.

How We Go About This

We have started the campaign for Proper Finance by adding hundreds of relevant landing pages for very niche subjects including reliable lenders, trustworthy loan companies and high acceptance loans – where there are notably less searches, less competition but enough interest to generate visitors and a positive return. Similarly, we have been working on variations of keywords such as bad credit, compare, no fees, no guarantor etc – to really capture the most searches possible.

In addition, we have created SEO pages for keywords that are in the middle of the competition such as low cost loans and unsecured loans.

The implementation of the landing pages includes adding h2 headings to create a good structure and using internal links to link to other pages on the site – something that is good for use and what Google loves.

We have made some very good progress in the first 3 months, and have already ranked over 30 keywords on page one, allbeit it very niche. We expect the full results to manifest within 6-12 months and this should see us on page 1 for hundreds of niche keywords, with low competition, but high click-through-rate and conversion.

A dream business team will comprise a well-balanced group of people who complement each other, challenge each other and bring out the best in each other. They will work efficiently together and be equipped and supported to achieve business objectives and results.

If you are recruiting for a new candidate to join an existing team, whether it is to replace someone or to increase the team’s size and resources, consider how they will fit with the team as well as in the role itself. One person can have a significant impact on the dynamics of a team. If they fit well, bringing complementary contributions, skill sets and approaches, they can help the team to work even more effectively. If they don’t fit, it can throw the entire balance and reduce engagement and efficiency across the whole team.

Considering the overall cultural fit of a new recruit is a great starting point to achieving team fit. With a clear employer brand featured across your recruitment materials and touch points, you should attract applicants who are inspired by and share the vision and values of your organisation. How can you then take this one step further and look to identify a good fit for a specific team?  

Identify your current team’s personalities

Before bringing anyone new into a team, take the time to understand the current personalities within the group. This could be through spending direct time with them, psychometric profiling, or a combination of both. The aim is to find out more about each team member as an individual. As well as looking at their skills and experience, look at how they work, how they interact, what their aspirations are and what they are motivated by. This will give you a better understanding not only of what additional skills or experience you need to find, but also what soft skills and working styles would fit and complement. This often doesn’t mean finding people who are all similar. Your team may currently be made up of highly creative workers for example but without the balance of people who are more detail focussed and organisation orientated.

Review current team roles

Before advertising a new position, review the current team’s responsibilities, performance and development opportunities. Is there an opening to increase engagement levels by offering an existing high-calibre member of the team the chance to progress or move into a different role? Bringing in a new recruit without consideration of this could potentially result in the disengagement of existing team members. They may feel they have been overlooked for the role the new employee would be filling. This reduces the chances of everyone working together as the dream team you are looking to build and the probability of the newest team member being able to fit in well. If you are replacing someone, are there any learnings to be considered first? If they were a great team fit, why was this? If not, what didn’t work so well?

Identifying team fit

Considering the first two areas should help you to build a more complete picture of what you need to find to achieve a good team fit. This is where our expert consultants can add real value to your recruitment process and help you to identify these desired traits. We work with our clients to provide competency-based interviewing techniques which focus not only on gathering evidence of required skills and experience, but also other competencies such as behaviours and personal qualities. Our complimentary services also include psychometric and personality profiling. There are many different types of assessment tests available, but generally, they will be used to measure how candidates differ in their motivation, values, priorities and opinions. This will help you to understand how they are likely to respond to different tasks and situations, their favoured working style and how they will interact with fellow workers. These tests can be especially useful if you have already used some form of profiling tool with your existing employees, as you will be able to see how potential candidates could fit and strengthen your existing team. Our consultants can also sit in on interviews, bringing an additional perspective on how the candidate would fit within the team dynamic.

And with team fit in mind, look for ways to involve team members within the interview process. This could be a social occasion with some or all, depending on numbers, of the candidate’s prospective peers. Or you could invite one or two of the team members to be on the interview panel. This will help you to see first-hand how candidates interact with their potential colleagues. It also gives the candidate their own chance to assess how they think they would fit with the team. Giving the other team members a say in the recruitment decision will also help them to feel more invested in their newest team member and encouraged to help them to fit in from the outset. 

Remain flexible and fair

While the team and cultural fit are worth exploring for all the reasons mentioned, it is still only one element to creating an overall recruitment campaign which shows real consideration for all involved and a commitment to achieving a successful result. The information gathered should always be considered as part of a wider picture and never be the only focus. Follow a fair and inclusive recruitment process and be considerate of not letting conscious or unconscious bias get in the way of making a great hiring decision. The best teams are usually made up of a variety of different people who all bring a range of different experiences, perspectives and skill sets to the table. They also naturally evolve and change over time.

Children at Monks Close in Bircham Newton will now be able to enjoy a new play area installed by Freebridge Community Housing’s Placeshaping Team.

Following some consultation work with the residents of Monks Close about how the neighbourhood could be improved, the Placeshaping Team were contacted by a number of parents living on the Close with concerns about the lack of activities available to their children.

So, working with the residents, the Placeshaping Team have now overseen the design and installation of a new play area – and a refurbishment of the some of the old existing play equipment.

One of the residents who has been heavily involved with the drive to get the work completed at Monks Close is Charlotte Beck, “I’m really pleased how Freebridge’s Placeshaping Team has worked together with me and other residents on Monks Close to provide this great new play area for the local kids. Although Monks Close is a great place to live we’re a long way from Hunstanton or King’s Lynn where most opportunities for children are based.”

Robert Clarke, Head of Housing at Freebridge, said “Monks Close is located in a very rural location, and amenities for the local children are limited. Freebridge’s vision is to support a better West Norfolk, which means that as well as providing good quality housing we need to support, where we can, efforts to improve the neighbourhoods our tenants live in. It’s been great to see the local people working with the Placeshaping team on this project, and now the new play area is finished we look forward to it being used by the local children for many years to come!”

It’s not a legal requirement to operate a colour coded cleaning regime but a plethora of legislation and guidelines leaves you with a responsibility to protect your staff, customers and anyone visiting your business. So, if you task your cleaner to clean all areas of your premises, including kitchens and washrooms armed with a single J-cloth and a mop, you could find yourself in deep water, and not necessarily clean water!

Joking aside, when the British Institute of Cleaning Science (BICSc) first began to develop a universal colour code which would be recommended for use for the cleaning industry in the late 1990s, it was the start of an industry revolution to minimise contamination and prevent the spread of infection. In 2006, the UK applied new food and hygiene legislation, and as good practice, the Food Standards Agency suggested that separate cleaning equipment such as cloths, sponges and mops, should be used in areas where ready-to-eat foods are stored, handled and prepared. COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) legislation demands risk assessment and prevention or control of exposure to harmful microorganisms in the workplace. Colour coding cleaning equipment is an auditable way of demonstrating that you do this.

Colour coded cleaning is the process of designating colours to cleaning equipment in specific areas of a building, reducing the spread of germs and increasing hygiene. Primarily designed for use in high risk industries and trades, such as catering, hospitality and healthcare (which has its own strict requirements), it is now recognised that every premises presents a risk and that is why Monthind always adopts and applies a colour code for its cleaning equipment.

Many cleaning colour codes use four colours: red for washrooms and toilets, blue for general areas, green for kitchens, and yellow for clinical/lab. We use five and have added pink for cleaning toilets and urinals. Every item of cleaning equipment including mops, buckets, brushes, cloths and gloves are coloured to make them easily identifiable and every cleaning operative’s training includes the system’s management. Printed instructions are clearly visible in relevant areas if anyone ever needs to check, and supervisors are eagle-eyed when it comes to spotting a green mop heading in the direction of the toilets!

We welcome any initiative that ensures our cleaning contributes to the safety and wellbeing of your stakeholders and embrace colour-coded cleaning for its simplistic effectiveness to ensure your business remains compliant with Health and Safety requirement and a pleasant environment for you, your staff and your customers to work and do business.

For find out more about our cleaning services and for a no-obligation quotation, please call 01206 215300.

Much has been written about all kinds of business related planning – from operational planning to planning for growth – but most owners of small businesses fail to make any plans for the one event that is inevitable and will happen to every single business. 

As a result of not planning for this event business owners lose a large part of their wealth and, sadly, most of them do not even realise it. 

The event, of course, is the eventual passing of the reins, the change in ownership of the business. Every business, if it’s not to die, eventually passes to new owners. There is no alternative. The new owners might be ones who’ve bought the business, or they might be the children of the business owner who inherited the business on his death. In either case, a lot of value and tax breaks (!) are lost if the event wasn’t planned sufficiently in advance.

Why Is Planning Important?

Let’s look briefly at, for example, the sale of a business.

When a business is sold, it’s a one-off opportunity for the business owner/s to benefit from a significant financial reward by releasing value built in the business. However, the value a business has at the point of sale is dependent, contrary to popular opinion, on not just the profit (or turnover!). In fact, less than 50% of value that a good business possesses at the point of sale comes from the financials. The remainder comes from the owner having put in place, years ago, attributes that may appear relatively minor and insignificant but which have an oversized influence on value / price!

We have recent examples of a business that was under offer for +£500K but which failed due diligence because the contract under which it had signed clients over the years contained a minor legal flaw (which didn’t impact operations, but impacted sale of the business). A certain term in the contract severely restricted any acquirer’s options with respect transferring clients; the business ended up selling for less than £200K. Had that been spotted a few years ago, and corrected, it would have been worth +£300K to the owners! Another business had failed to keep the right records – records that are not legally required but which buyers invariably demand – and this costed it over 30% of its value. 

Similarly, using the “wrong” stock keeping software, not having a shareholder agreement and a myriad of other factors that do not impede the normal running of the business, can become major sticking points through the sale process thus preventing shareholders from getting full value. And without proper tax planning, again years in advance, many tax breaks can be lost! This includes the coveted Entrepreneurs Relief – a tax break that covers capital gains on the sale of a business.

Conclusion 

Business owners often believe that when the time comes for them to move on they can put the business up for sale and successfully cash out at a good price. What they fail to appreciate is that if they do not plan for this event years in advance they are unlikely to be able to realise anywhere near full value for the business. And if a sale is forced, perhaps as a result of the owner’s ill health, or death, it’s usually the case that the business sells for little more than the value of stock! Value in the intangible assets such as goodwill, trademarks, licences and approvals and much else …is often simply lost.

It’s worth all business owners treating a business exit like they would a last will and testament. The exit will eventually happen, and the owner’s preparation, or lack of it, will determine the price the business fetches.

Where can business owners get early advice on maximising the likely value of the business at the point of sale? If it’s a business that has a large property element – freehold of shops, pubs, leisure centres, any other commercial property, there are specialist commercial real estate agents who are able to advise. For broader advice on exit planning it may be worth finding the right business broker as many provide growth advisory and exit planning assistance. One can find the right broker at this has a directory. 

Best wishes for maximum value to your own exit whenever that happens.

Our local (and great) university here in Norwich, is the University of East Anglia or UEA. It has a history of funding new innovation, helping small businesses raise capital to bring their innovative ideas to market.

Their offer is comprehensive.  This includes funding loans which typically are issued over three years with an attractive interest rate. Certainly below the commercial norm.  These loans can be on a convertible basis, meaning they can be converted to equity later.  They will also consider taking an equity stake in the company.  Above all they offer first class advice, and have access to all the UEA has to offer too!

They will help in any way they can. You don’t need to have any connection to the University either so get in touch!

They have a new initiative called ‘Invest East’. Working with Norfolk and Suffolk County Councils, and New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership. Saffron explains all in this excellent podcast which you can listen to here: Access to funding via UEA 

Find out more about the Invest East programme here Invest East Website

I have a whole range of interesting and informative recordings you can access here:BGC Podcasts

I’m always up for a coffee too, as long as it’s good coffee of course: Contact Neil

Do you want to take your local business online? Maybe you need some help optimizing your site or establishing an online voice. Maybe you want to increase ROI and expand your audience. Either way, your fledgling website is ready for that final push out of the nest. We can help you do that. Read on to discover how you can push for online success in 2019.

Optimization and Accessibility Matter More

If you aren’t optimizing your website’s content to climb the ladder of the search engine result pages (SERPs), chances are you’re falling behind the competition. Nowadays, we know that organic search results will give a higher click-through rate than paid ads. What does that mean? It means people are more likely to click on something that doesn’t say “ad” on the bottom of it, as they trust a website more when it offers information freely rather than trying to make a sale right off the bat.

That also means you need to rank organically and get your page to the top of the SERPs. When your site ranks highly, more people will see it. It becomes accessible instantly, and high accessibility will result in a higher return on investment (ROI) for you. So, how do you rank number one? It isn’t simple or easy to do. Many companies choose to hire out SEO services to professionals, and this is a good idea. However, if that isn’t an option for you, there are a few things you can do.

First, spend time researching keywords to try and rank. Use an SEO tool like SEMrush or Moz to do this. Your best bet is to try and rank for long-tail keywords, which are strings of words. For example, if you have a shoe shop, you could try and rank for the keyword “women’s shoes in (your city),” instead of “shoe shop.” Long-tail keywords work best, but you need a research tool to do it right.

You also need to build content around these keywords. The content needs to be consistent and high quality, as the search engines will know if your articles or blog posts are full of fluff, and they’ll penalize you for it. However, if you build quality content around site-specific long-tail keywords, you’ll soar to the top of the SERPs and increase consumer accessibility.

Giving Consumers Options and Information is Key

So, you’re working on your ranking. Now what? It isn’t enough that potential customers click on your site. They need to stay there. Google tracks how much time a searcher stays on each page of your site, so the longer they stay, the more credible your website becomes. That ensures you won’t have to worry about losing your ranking, but it doesn’t take care of the other issue: how can you become a real resource for your customers?

The answer is simple: by giving them information as well as options. The market will transform this year, and those who wish to lead their companies to success must realize that businesses need change to grow. In 2019, the market will focus on the consumer. And the consumers of today value honesty, integrity and straightforwardness. They do not value smarm or disingenuousness. You’ll get much further by presenting information in an honest and straightforward way than you would by trying to force them down an antiquated sales funnel. And to provide them with information, you must produce content with some length and substance.

According to Forbes, the successful content of this year will be long-form. That means your blog posts and articles need to be over 2,000 words for your customers to consider them a real resource, come back to them time and again as well as share them with friends on social media. They need to be chock-full of valuable information that gives people a reason to keep consulting them. It’s the best way to establish yourself as an authoritative figure – and when you gain the respect of the community, the sales start to increase.

Special Offers, Free Trials & Discounts Make You Stand Out

So, you’re on the right track by producing long-form content, which provides valuable information to your customers, not pressuring them and using organic SEO to help yourself become more visible and accessible to your base. However, chances are your competition has also researched the same things you have. What’s to stop customers from clicking on the next site, deciding to buy from a competitor rather than your business?

Incentives can help you out with that. Provide clickable offers that save your customers money or provide them with the chance to test out your product for free. That makes your credibility soar as almost everyone is more likely to buy a product if they know for sure it’s a good one. So, give them a chance to test it and make sure that it is.

This one can be appropriate for nearly any industry. Gaming, food and drinks and even specific service-based businesses can all benefit from giving a little to get a lot. For example, say you own a restaurant. Why not give someone a discount incentive to come in for a meal? Make a niche discount like a date-night discount of 50 percent, promote it on your website and social media, and customers will flock to take advantage of it. If they like your restaurant and have an enjoyable time there, they’ll keep coming back, regardless of whether they get a discount.

The same holds true for services like software development. If you offer plugins or other services, give them away for free for a period of one month. Interested parties will, of course, flock to try out your services. Once they come to understand how good your development services are, they’ll come to rely on them – and be only too happy to make a purchase when their trial period ends.

Forward-thinking iGaming brands can also attract customers with free trials, and bingo is an excellent example of this. Brits love their bingo, so intelligent providers offer them the chance to play bingo online with no deposit. So, it ends up being free play. That way, potential new customers can get the hang of how the game works and discover if they like the site. That offer is especially alluring because it holds the possibility to win some money without making a deposit, ensuring that they pique the potential customers’ interest. It’s the iGaming version of a no-risk free trial.

You should consider the impact something like this could have on your customers and work to integrate it into your marketing strategy. At the end of the day, it builds your credibility to offer something for free, so don’t hesitate to do so.

Establishing Brand Voice and Authority Online

Note that establishing a brand voice and a reputation as an authority takes time and patience. Therefore, you should use your local reputation as much as you can, asking customers in-store to help you out with some online reviews. These, of course, need to be genuine, or they serve no purpose. You may find that many customers are already loyal and are happy to help you out.

Post testimonials from your current clients on your website and social media to strengthen your authority further. Consumers are much more likely to listen to those who have been in the same boat they have, and they trust others more than you because ultimately, you are selling something.  

Each review, testimonial and another piece of content you produce should help you establish your brand voice further as an entity and your authority as a vendor. Your brand should have a definitive personality, and your content needs to reflect that. Radiate a personality that reflects your largest sales demographic and appeals to your customers, and your business will thrive.

Now that you know what to do, you can lay the groundwork for a successful website this year. Follow these tips and tricks to attract more clientele, satisfy your customers every need and make online marketing a breeze in 2019.

Elevating your events with an investment in a custom exhibition stand can be a big step, but that’s exactly what Avani Solutions decided to do ready for their PUB 2019 appearance. Not satisfied with raising the bar on beer quality alone, they wanted to raise the bar on their event marketing too.

‘It was the right time for us to move to a custom design, having already opted in previous years to increase our stand space. We had struggled to put together a coherent stand space with enough visual impact and interactivity, so turned to outside support for the answer.’ – Avani Solutions

With such a passion to showcase their evolving brand and industry-leading services, we knew Avani needed a sleek contemporary space that provided the impact and interaction they were looking for, whilst remaining sensitive to their space and budget. Building on the creative foundations with Ark, we were delighted to be introduced and brought in to offer specialist support. We set about creating a bespoke stand that incorporated high quality graphics, arresting shapes and on-brand interactions, all within a modest 6 x 2 metre footprint.

Working with their energetic blue brand colours accented with subtle, stylish ‘suds’, an already arresting backdrop was enhanced by custom 3D elements. Most notably a large curved light-box which brightly displayed Avani Solution’s hero statement & branding, complemented by a back-lit 3D graphic to the right. The use of circular graphics and icons ensured a cohesive look throughout, which whilst minimalist, delivered considerable impact to capture visitors’ attention.

However, just like a good beer, there’s no point having a flashy glass but pouring a pint with no flavour…and Avani certainly added plenty of that to their stand. Leveraging their full marketing mix and immersing visitors in their imaginative beer heaven or hell interaction, Avani Solutions ensured they were active in getting the most out of their stand and truly raising the bar on their events, knowing that they could focus on their business, while we took care of the rest…

‘The solution provided by Image Display included all the behind-the-scenes administration and logistics, as well as the expertise to design and build a viable and impactful exhibition stand. At no point did we need to worry about the detail as you had it covered. 

The Image team…worked efficiently to make sure everything was in place on time and we’d like to thank them and the rest of the team for an all-round great experience.’ – Avani Solutions

A huge ‘cheers’ to Avani Solutions & Ark for making us part of their event, we can’t wait to raise the bar with them again later this year!

 If you’re considering a step out of the shell scheme, a move away from modular or a fresh start altogether – ask us how we can help you today!

The number of cyber crimes targeting businesses has soared over the last few years. According to a cyber security survey, in 2018, almost half of UK businesses fell victim to cyber attacks and security breaches. This growing uneasiness of having company assets so vulnerable to being leaked, held hostage and outright stolen within seconds has encouraged many firms to proactively seek security measures to protect themselves. That said, the best way to figure out how a hacker might attack is to think like one- this is what an ethical hacker does.

The term “ethical hacker” might sound like an oxymoron. After all, when one thinks of a hacker, the image that our mind creates is of a guy in a black hoodie, sitting in front of a computer, weaving his next sinister game plan to steal our information and cause cyber terror. But an ethical hacker is the “good guy” who predicts and kills the plan-of-attack cooked up by the malicious hacker before it gets a chance to do harm.

Ethical hackers, or pen-testers like the ones at Fidus Infosec, are certified security professionals who simulate the strategies and attacks used by malicious hackers to gain unauthorised access to computer systems and applications. Being aware of these security vulnerabilities gives you the opportunity for repair so that your systems don’t stand a chance to be penetrated.

Your Current IT Security Measures May Not be Hacker-Proof

Your company might already have well-intended precautionary measures in place to safeguard your IT infrastructure against cyber attacks. But, these measures can still hold weak spots that you are unaware of. An ethical hacker can evaluate these measures, assess their efficacy, test their penetrability, and hand you invaluable data which you can use to make informed security decisions.

You Can Afford an Ethical Hacker But Not a Cyber Crime

Depending on the size of your business, cyber crime can cost your firm anywhere from thousands to millions of pounds. Your business reputation will also be in jeopardy, and the harm resulting from certain breaches may be irreversible. Having an ethical hacker scan your system for attack vectors and plug these vulnerabilities from being exploited will ensure that you never have to see a loss in hands of a cyber criminal.

Prevent Breaches With an Informed Workforce

Little, unintended, actions spark big movement…or breaches! While many threats can be countered with intelligent technology, breaches, hacks and attacks can still be ushered in by employees, who may not be aware of the best practices to follow when using your company’s network. For example, leaving laptops unattended in a public place can put your company’s sensitive data at risk of being leaked. Ethical hackers can prevent cases like these by fostering the importance of cyber security through awareness and education.

New Technology Brings New Vulnerabilities

Technology evolves fast, and agile businesses quickly adopt new innovations to optimise their day-to-day operations. These new innovations though might be brimming with vulnerabilities. For example, research shows that more than half of UK businesses still can’t detect IoT related security breach. Ethical hackers are always up to date with the latest technology and its potential flaws, and they are also aware of how these flaws can be exploited. This knowledge can be used to safeguard your systems against attacks by developing better security measures while keeping these vulnerabilities in mind.

Ethical hackers help you play better offence against cyber criminals. With attacks becoming more sophisticated, hiring them has become a necessity to protect businesses from getting tarnished or defunct.

The online slot gaming industry has already proven itself to be a massive revenue generator for the entire world economy. To back this up, recent studies reveal that slot games account for almost 70% of all the activity in virtually all online casinos. It is imperative now more than ever to try and understand casino slot players and the games that they play. In this article, we will investigate the overall behavior of free slots no download gamers. Some of the things we will investigate include the things that influence slot gamers choices, their attitude towards progressive slot machines, and the influence of game themes on players.

Most people prefer slots over any other form of gambling

Prior to the internet age, the most common form of gambling was to play the lottery. This remains popular today, and millions across the United States and around the world bet on the Mega Millions every week, tempted by the immense jackpots on offer. However, lottery-style games have now been joined by an ever-growing range of slots and table games at online casinos.

Online casinos did not exist a decade ago. Even in this era, land-based slot machines still dominated over 70% of the gambling activity on any land-casino floor. A 2011 report from the American Gaming Association showed that there were over 854000 slots in only 39 states of America. Even more interesting, 84680 of these were stationed on non-casino venues.

The land casino boom period is now long gone. Innovation and technology have led to the emergence of online-based slot machines. Unlike the non-sophisticated oldies, the online slot machines feature a more interactive game concept, graphics, and more detail. As you would expect, slot fanatics love the new, sophisticated online slot machines even more.

It’s being done for the first time!

As the online slots gambling industry continues to grow, more research has been subjected to it now more than ever. However, very little research investigating the segmentation of online slot players has been done. Most research has been carried out by individual casinos who only attempt to classify their audiences according to the slot game titles that they play. Even so, this data is not shared with third parties out of privacy concerns.

For the first time, we will try to analyze the demographics, motivation, & behavior of online slot machine players, why they choose certain games over others, their perception of progressive jackpot slots, and the influence of game themes on slot players. This will be made possible by analyzing the casino environment itself, individual players’ personality traits, gambling motivation, and the effects (problem gambling).

Effect of personality traits on slots gambling

A study carried out earlier on land-based slot machines proved that all slot players are not the same. Each player has his/her own personality traits that directly influence the slots playing session. The study revealed some quite interesting facts that might still apply to the current online slots world.

The study revealed that there was more innate action in the players than just the lever pulling action. Based on comparison with players who preferred other forms of gambling such as cards and sports, it was clear that slot players were less competitive and not primarily motivated by basic needs. Instead, they were motivated more by upper-hierarchy material needs driven by impulsiveness.

Based on Cattel’s 16 personality theory it was concluded that slot players interacted more with the gaming session than the rest of the players. The motivation behind this was plainly the need to change their lives through the winnings rather than just make something little to get by.

To further prove this claim, data collected from observation showed that slot players were mostly low-income earners.

In the online slots dimension, slots’ gambling is not any different. Online slots give more reason for players to engage in the sport due to the privacy, flexibility, and better gaming experience that comes with it. This is in addition to the fact that online slot players have more to worry about rather than just pulling the lever.

Unlike traditional slot machines that were based more on the random generation of numbers, modern slots are based on skill to some extent. This means that the players are likely to be more fixated on mastering their skills so that they can make more winnings.

Effect of the casino environment on slots gambling

Several researchers have attempted to analyze the effect of the casino environment on the slots players. Several of these researchers who based their research on land-based slots found out that the slot games sounds, the theme, lighting, noise, and availability of fresh air had a direct effect on the casino player. Those casinos with likable atmospheric elements attracted more visitors than those that did not. This is because the players were more likely to visit the casino again and also probably put in a positive recommendation of the casino to their friends and family.

This also applies to the online slots industry that has seen a larger fan-base than land casino slots. This is because the online slots can be played from anywhere meaning that the player can choose his/her own level of comfort.

Problem Gambling

Online slots are superior in terms of components such as graphics and the concept of play than the land-based slots. The higher level of entertainment has led to higher rates of problem gambling than ever.

In fact, recent studies prove beyond any reasonable doubt that the high incidence of problem gambling is directly attributable to the growing advancement in slot machines, made possible by the online slot revolution. Although other studies suggest otherwise, the majority of them indicate that some machines are indeed responsible for slot machine addiction.

To further discredit the work of those who believe otherwise, other studies have been able to prove that:

·         Exciting casino game music encourages most players to keep on playing even after they lose a substantial amount of money

·         A near win illusion created by the game encourages the player to have another go

·         Irrational thinking. Majority of players, especially the poverty-stricken, are influenced by certain factors to keep on gambling even if they keep losing. A good example is when a player personifies a slot machine, usually observed when the player talks to or bangs on the device being used to play the slot. This trait was observed more in high rollers (those who bet huge amounts of cash)

All in all, not all the gamblers have reported cases of problem gambling. The effect of slot features such as higher volatility, wins, and more pay lines on the slot player can, however, not be undermined.

Slot Gambling Motivation

In the past, very little research has been done to investigate the factors motivating slot players. This is despite the fact that several studies have revealed that slot players are more motivated to participate in their sport than the players in other categories. A study carried out in 2005, for instance, revealed that slot players scored higher in motivation parameters such as stimulation, prestige, and relief after playing the games.

Another recent study carried out in 2009 revealed that slot players had more solid motivation factors other than money. These factors included a search for happiness, escape from daily stress & pressures, and low self-esteem.  All the studies seemed to agree on one thing, though, happiness was the most sought after motivating factor for the slot players. Other motivators for more experienced slot players included things such as recovering money lost in previous bets.

Some people prefer table games over slot games. Why?

In some jurisdictions such as China, table games are more prevalent than slot games. This is quite contradicting as you would expect the norm to apply everywhere around the world.

For most of these jurisdictions, this choice is mostly influenced by cultural beliefs which must, without a doubt, be respected. According to a recent study carried out in one of the casinos in China, the residents view gambling more as a business opportunity rather than just entertainment. This is in the sense that the winning odds are higher in table games and the fact that table games present more interaction opportunities with other people. In that way, the residents believe that they might make more money and also get a chance to network with influential businesses people. Slots, on the other hand, are a solitary affair and does not provide for such opportunities.

Thanks to this research in China, Macau specifically, more reasons as to why people are motivated to play slot games were revealed. While table game players were more oriented to the business during their playing sessions, slot players had other goals such as killing time, winning, happiness, relief from pressure, or simply just trying out the slot game.

How Do We Segment gamblers?

Previous studies have all attempted to classify gamblers in general rather than slot players only. This is despite the fact that online slot players constitute the larger majority of all the gamblers combined. The importance of all these previous studies can, however, not be underestimated because they have provided a basis for the segmentation of online slot players.

One such study compared the behavior of staunch gamblers to those who do not gamble at all. Their specific demographic revealed quite some interesting facts when their attitude towards escorted group tours was analyzed. It was revealed that the gamblers were more motivated to participate in the group tours more so because of the gambling aspect of the tour. Behavior wiser, the gamblers also spent less time planning for the tour and it was observed that the group consisted more of old participants.

The study was concluded by segmenting players into four major groups which include:

·         High centrality gambling

For these players, playing casino games was a major part of their lives

·         High-enjoyment gambling

For these players, the entertainment part of casino gaming was very important for them

·         High self-expression gambling

Gambling for this category of players was more of an identity activity. It was a way of being oneself and doing what they enjoy doing most.

·         Low gambling involvement

These players had little interest in gambling activities.

As good as the classification was, it only attempted to classify gamblers in general. For the first time, we will apply a research methodology aimed at segmenting the online slot players.

Segmenting online slot players

Investigating individual players is imperative when you want to understand free slot game players.  For this reason, internet-based methods such as online questionnaires must be employed. Most importantly, the sample used must represent online slot players on a global scale.

Having met all these conditions with our methodology, we have some quite interesting facts for you. Also important to mention, the data collected was backed up by previous studies that prove that the behavior of online slot players remains consistent for a very long period of time.

Questions used to segment the slot players

Questions used to segment the players were separated into three parts. The first section consisted of general questions such as what type of game was played, for how long, and how much they gambled. Section two delved deeper by asking questions such as what effect free slot features had on their gaming choice, if the game theme was important, and their general perception of progressive slots. The last section focused on demographics such as age, gender, level of education, marital status, and income.

Results

General demographics

Our study revealed that 52% of the respondents were female and mean & median age of 55 and 56 years old respectively. The largest group, falling between 55 and 64 years took up 39% of all the respondents. Older respondents consisted of 16% of the respondents.

72% of the respondents were married. Singles accounted only for 11.9% of the population under study.

Education wise, 21% had a high school diploma or its equivalent. 40.4% had a college/associates degree and 38.6% had a 4-year university degree.  

More than 88% of the population had their own homes.

Slots gambling behavior

Among the free slot players, 58% of them were more oriented to playing video slots. 41%, on the other hand, played reel slots.

The most popular denomination that was wagered was 25 cents (39% of respondents). 21.9% of them wagered at least a dollar while 19.4% of the population wagered 5 cents more frequently.

More than 60% of the respondents also held that they would prefer lesser, frequent winnings to large infrequent payouts.

Period Length and frequency

77.5% of the respondents spent 1-6 hours playing their favorite free slot. Frequency wise, free slot players were categorized into three main categories which were heavy (at least once a week), medium (once or twice a month), and light (four times a year). 22% of the players fell in the heavy frequency category, 44.7% in the medium category, and 33.5% of the responders in the light frequency category.

This section also revealed that more players preferred games with the denominations that they wanted to play & within one’s budget, those that had better chances of winning, those that didn’t require the player to break a budget to enter the bonus round, and those that were fun to play.

Progressive Jackpot Machines

In this type of slot machines, a percentage of each player’s wage contributes to a prize pool hosted from several machines or even multiple casinos.  Among the respondents, only 33% of them played progressive slot games. 6.6% of them couldn’t really answer yes or no while 60.2% responded with a big NO.

Among those who played the progressive games, 56.3% of them admitted that their choice was influenced by both the size of the jackpot and how much that they were winning on each session. 54.2% of them preferred the progressive sessions with a starting prize pool of at least $20000.

68.9% also admitted that the participating denomination also mattered with 36% of the respondents preferring 25 cents, 25.3% preferring 1 cent, 17.3% preferring 5 cents, and 9.3% preferring a dollar.

Effect of the game theme

18.9% of the respondents thought that the theme was a very important component of the slot game. 56.8% of these would prefer a movie-based theme, 60.8% a show gamed theme, and the rest, a board theme.

Free slots cluster groups based on sets of variables

Based on our research, free slot gamblers fall under 5 factors which are:

1.               Ego-driven free slot players

For these players, the reason for playing free slots was mostly ego-driven. This means that they only did so not out of their own motive but for how other people see them. A show off of playing skills would be very common with this type of players. It basically represents the self as well as the inspirational motivations for gaming.

2.               Learning/Evaluating

Players here feel that learning new skills and assessing one’s ability to master them is very important. This represents the need to deeply rationalize an experience with the purpose of obtaining new knowledge as well as evaluating one’s learning capabilities.

3.               Relaxation

This factor described those free slot players with a need for tension relief or an escape from stressing reality.  It represents the hedonic need for “escape” or just relaxation.

4.               Financial awards players

These players played primarily for the financial benefit that comes with it.

5.               Excitement

Players here are just looking for a form of entertainment when playing free slots. It represents a desire for excitement.

Cluster analysis of free slot players

This approach uses the five factors above, as well as the preference, demographic, and behavioral data obtained.

Using factor-cluster segmentation, the respondents were classified into four distinct groups. Let us look at the characteristics of each:

Cluster 1: Utilitarian

This is the smallest group taking up only 19.8% of the sample. It the oldest group of people with the highest household income. The high percentage of light gamblers (18.3%) indicates that utilitarians may be motivated by other factors such as kill time and socialization.

Players in cluster 1  prefer slot machines with the denomination that they want to play, do not care about the theme of the machine, and also do not care if it is a progressive machine or not.

Cluster 2: Excitement

This is the largest group taking up 27.5% of the sample. Females dominate the cluster (58.95%) with 21% of them being under the age of 45. The group has the lowest percentage of heavy gamblers (19.3%).

Players here prefer bets within their budget, do not care about the theme, play less often than the other clusters, and over half of them do not play progressive slots. They, however, have higher income and spend more than all the other clusters

Cluster 3: Multipurpose

They constitute 27.1% of the sample. It is dominated by males (55.1%), has the lowest reported income, and has the highest percentage of high gamblers.

Players here prefer games that they like to play, those with high chances of winning, and those with bets that are within their budget. They also do not care about the theme of the game and a larger percentage of them do not play progressives (61%)

Cluster 4: Relaxation

They constitute 25.5% of the population. There are more males (51.5%) than females. The majority enjoy dollar machines (22%).

Plays prefer games that they enjoy playing and those that have the denominations that they want to play.

Summary

The typical free slot player is more likely to be a female between 55 and 60 years old, has a college education, and a homeowner with a household income of more than $50000. The majority of the players are also medium to light players.

The most important factors influencing a players choice of a slot game was the available denominations, fun-level, winning chances, the bet size, and the amount required to enter the bonus round. Only 33% of the respondents showed interest in playing progressive machines. The decision of 56.3% of these players was influenced by the amount being contested for and the frequency of wins during the game session.

The four-cluster segmentation proves that the free slot market is non-homogenous. Each slot player is different in terms of the motivating factors which places each free slot game player in one of the clusters.

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Accounting is Made Easier

By using property management software, you will be able to monitor your finance in a much more organised way. That means that when it comes to the necessary larger accounting tasks that present themselves on a quarterly or yearly basis, it won’t be a major headache for your company. With this kind of software, you know that when the time comes for accounting tasks, they can be easily dealt with, making dealing with taxes that little bit easier.

It makes managing properties more efficient – By using the correct tools through using the right property management software for your company, you can help to seamlessly run property management, keeping both employees and tenants happy, as you will be able to complete tasks with ease and without unnecessary complications.

Easier finance monitoring – Having good quality property management software also helps you to better keep a track of your companies finances.  With PMS, there will be features allowing you to track your numbers to ensure you are within budget, as well as specific portals for tenants to pay their rent or mortgage repayments, allowing you to keep an eye on incoming payments.

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Better communication – As PMS provides tenants with the possibility to manage and perform all the necessary operations online via a portal, it enables better communication between you and the tenant.

The Option of Online Payments

It can be difficult to manually keep track of rent payments manually, which can sometimes take a few days to process. When done manually, it is also easier for an error to be made, such as a payment not being tracked. However, with PMS tenants can pay their rent using their phone, and you can receive the money in a matter of minutes.

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