Website browsing

Automated Chat Bot for your Website and Facebook Page

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drive by chat bot

In 2018 we heavily promoted the benefits of Live Chat facilities on website. At the time, research had found that customers respond very positively to the idea of a live chat over a contact form on a website. As well as this, employees using live chat features can productively engage with far more people at one time. But how can we top this in 2020?

Talking to multiple customers over the phone is clearly more time consuming than holding multiple live chats with your website visitors. However, the next productivity feature is here and it could make live chat boxes redundant in time.

 

Automated Chat Bot

Predefined questions and automated responses on your Website and Facebook Page.

 

We’ve written out a summary of what this interesting new trend actually offers to your business.

An automated chat bot can converse fluidly with website and Facebook users. Google’s Natural Language Processing allows the chat bot to provide realistic small talk and natural interaction that mimics the real world. Not only can they be programmed to manage your enquiries but It can also search your website, send contact details and provide user feedback.

These facilities are being improved all the time and already offer a significant competitive edge. Ultimately, it does a better job at converting visitors than your website does alone. It will still not replace manned live chat facilities for many companies but the limited time required makes the chat bot feature a serious consideration for overnight/weekend enquiries. With a chat bot you can sit back and collect more leads, conversions and satisfied customers without any effort.

Even predefined questions and answers alone will still generate more conversions than the ‘No one is Available to Chat’ message that can often be seen on a live chat box. So if you are considering an upgrade, give us a call on 01775 761512 or email [email protected]

SEO News: Record Daily Searches On Privacy Search Engine

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DuckDuckGo – the privacy-enhanced search engine – reaches record daily searches

DuckDuckGo has been on our radar for a few years as we believe internet users deserve privacy. Companies are making money off of you, your search data  and your private information online, without your consent.

Since the recent Facebook data scandal, we are not surprised that a browser like DuckDuckGo is making growth. What you search for should be your own business. Getting the privacy you deserve online should be as simple as closing the blinds.

The privacy driven search engine recently posted that it has reached a new high, at 30 million searches per day on average. The company said: “It took seven years to reach 10 million searches in one day. To get to 20 million searches, it took another two years. Now, less than a year later, it is now at 30 million searches per day.”

What does this mean for SEO?

DuckDuckGoDuckDuckGo is an important competitor to Google, Bing and other search engines that actively collect user data for advertising.

Compared Google’s billions of daily searches, DuckDuckGo doesn’t need to be a priority for website ranking. However, with the Facebook data Scandal and the new General Data Protection Regulation, privacy-centric services could be appropriate for the right business. Businesses dealing with security, adult services/products and legal services could all benefit from considering the value of a privacy enhanced search engine.

We’ll be keeping our eye on this developing search engine territory. If our would like to know how to enhance your browsing privacy or prioritising your website ranking in this search engine then contact us.

Developing the Website of the Future – Web Development

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future web development

There are some emerging technologies that are set to change Web Development in much the same way as mobile browsing has in recent years. We have named a few that we predict will be become more and more common in the coming years.

Domain Extensions

We can already see the rise of unconventional domain name extensions beginning. As traditional domains (.com and .co.uk) have been so widely used, people will need to adopt new domain extensions such as .limited, .shop or .events. There are a vast number of extensions now available but we still aren’t coming across them daily. As more people are forced to adopt them, the search engines will respond by putting them on an even playing field with more common extensions. A lot of industry experts are arguing that it’s important to start using them now to ride that wave when it comes. There are currently over 600 new extensions that you could potentially invest in over the next few years.

Cryptocurrency

It seems logical that before ‘cryptocurrency’ (such as Bitcoin) truly finds its place in the real world, it will first become as standard for future ecommerce websites as PayPal is today. With virtual currency growing in popularity there are already signs of this reality. Major websites such as Microsoft, Expedia and Shopify.com have already adopted this payment option. Benefits include anonymity, very low transaction fees and irreversible transactions (a third party such as a bank or PayPal can’t reverse the payment). We’re a long way off a cryptocurrency revolution but if it continues to grow as it has then there will undoubtedly be a market call for this in Ecommerce Web Development.

Online Security

With online security concerns still inhibiting a smooth browsing experience it seems logical that the market will lean towards account security being less troublesome and more secure. Three symbols, two numbers, one capital letter and ten minimum characters leaves users with a problem on their hands. Most of us will have experienced the difficulty of creating a password that has to be written down. This defeats the object of the security measures and ultimately makes the account less secure. The future will offer Web Development options beyond that. Examples of this can be seen with online banking and the technology available to enter your pin securely. Many smart phones are now capable of reading thumbprints therefore thumbprint entry is potentially already an option. Regardless of how this manifests itself, there is currently a need for a solution. With website apps being commonplace for social media, online banking and even ecommerce (such as Ebay and Amazon) it won’t be long before we are able to use the full potential of facial recognition, voice recognition and thumb recognition to solve this problem.

To discuss your own futuristic web development objectives, give us a call on 01775 761512 or contact us online.

Website Browsing With A Mobile Has Overtaken Desktop

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christmasThe clocks have gone back and Christmas is just around the corner. Website browsing, which the writer of this blog can only imagine, is an activity which will be taking a lot more of your time right now.  With all those presents to buy, you will probably end up searching the internet for inspirational gift ideas on your Smart phone or tablet.

With the new figures just released demonstrate that it’s even more important to upgrade your website to a mobile friendly solution.  The new figures have revealed that Smartphones and tablets are now king as the share of desktop web browsing has shrunk to 48.7% (according to data provided by StatCounter – statcounter.com)

If you’re running your own business, it’s easy to start to rest on the year’s successes at this time of the year. But as you are reading this blog, your competitors maybe stepping it up a gear and boosting their sales. Perhaps even by going mobile-friendly.

If you are a regular reader of Drive By Websites’ blogs, you will know how much we’ve stressed the importance of transferring websites to a mobile friendly solution. Google has continued to remind businesses that mobile friendly websites are the future, and therefore favoured by the search engine.

Drive By Websites is continuing to offer an affordable solution with prices from only £499 plus VAT for an optimised mobile-friendly website.