Business Website Advice

Katherine Kozel

October 2007 Sticky Websites blog was born. After 10 years of leading E-commerce training workshops and doing in-person online marketing coaching with over 800 business from Northland to Canterbury, I decided to move my Marketing Online advice to an all online delivery.  Since then I’ve written bi-weekly on all things to do with Internet Marketing.  See the Site Index for a complete list and easy navigation.

100% online delivery of my Business Website Advice
Business owners get what they need from my free website advice articles at their convenience. They can still email me directly if they need my SEO expertise.

Subscribe to hear about internet topics
You can subscribe to this blog and choose your preferred method of notification.  By far the most popular is to subscribe by email for an alert sent to your Inbox.  You’ll get a weekly email with links to articles, reviews and tips for creating Sticky Websites plus tales on work - life balance.

How do blogs work?  Read About Blogs Page for info on feeds etc. If you subscribe to heaps of blogs then Feeds are a way to go. Most people choose email alerts.

How to get my one to one advice online? Two ways

1. Read my Blog Posts giving free advice designed for entry and moderate level Internet skills. Averaging one a week
2. Buy one of the low-cost DIY website improvement tools at the Website Help Shop.   Three easy self administered tools on planning, searching engine ranking and general check-up.   Over the last several years of coaching, I’ve heard how helpful the tools I have created have been so here they are for all to access.  Complete the the forms and take them with confidence to your design team to continue building the online side of your business.

What is a Sticky Website?
The internet jargon Sticky Website stands for a site that attracts lots of visitors who become loyal site customers. My slogan is.Get ‘em there and Keep ‘em There. That translates to build traffic and have a sticky website to keep traffic coming back.

Professional background
I admit to being an Internet junkie since I first went online in 1986 from a remote telephone modem in the Philippines to Washington DC. Those were the days when the Internet was only text on a green screen

New Zealand Trade and Enterprise E-business Guide Vendor
My business Marketing Online has successfully completed NZTE’s E-business Guide vendor assessment process (in 2005).

This New Zealand government agency vetted Internet services providers so small business owners could select vendors with confidence.

Their seal of approval came after a rigorous review of many of my clients in the several areas in which I advise.

New Zealand International Aid and Development Agency approved
In August 2006 I became an approved contractor for my specialist expertise in Ecommerce after a lengthy vetting process.  I welcome Ebusiness projects from within the NZAid community.

Enterprise Workshops in E-commerce tourism
Between 1995 and 2007,  I have taught Internet related classes, working since 1998 with over 800 Northland SME’s primarily as the Ecommerce subcontractor for BizNorth delivering 3 hour Enterprise Training Workshops followed by one to one coaching in my home office.  My workshops were well received as word spread about my easy to understand approach to an area that often carries a mystic that puts people off.  I pride myself in being pragmatic.

Good practical advice in a non-threatening manner.
Business owners are huge risk takers and fully competent at running their business, but not always confident about new technology or confident around the layers of insider lingo surround the Internet and websites.  It’s always been a buzz for me to help people learn new things and tackle things they didn’t know they could.

Tourism sector
In 2005 and 2006  I worked directly with Activate Northland Project, the major regional initiative (MRI)  that inpart helped tourism operators to optimise their website strategies.

Website planning and SEO - search engine optimisation
I often work with business owners at various stages of experience and comfort in using internet tools —deciding to have one or not, planning a new website, implementing, strategising and optimising and revisiting their internet business tools.  Generally, owners are looking for information and increased knowledge from an advocate, an e-business advisor. Someone like me.

Customised workshops - 3 -4 hour power point training
I listened to small business owner’s needs, then created workshops covering planning, website no-no’s, writing content for search engines as well as the human visitor, plus email and enewsletters. That information is now available online in my Blog posts in under several categories.

Website copywriter
I rely on my background in business communication and professional writing which started  with  BA degree in English and MA in Education from California where I grew up. It’s been the foundation of my online and professional writing experience. For seven years, until 2005, I was a tenured lecturer in Business Communication on the Business Management and Information Systems degree at Northland Polytechnic, now NorthTec.

Business community experience
Being a ‘kiwi with an American accent’ for 20 plus years I have been active in Northland’s business community. I worked as a trustee on the Northland Business Development Trust and in various roles in the Northland Chamber of Commerce. I am currently a mentor in the national Business Mentors New Zealand programme and am sometimes more active than others depending on other projects I have going.

International business sold July 2007
I was director in charge of marketing while my husband, Matt Hennessy was director of engineering for the audio/video information technology based business in Northland, Electro Sound International Ltd. The business received the Northland Chamber of Commerce New Business Award 1996.

For media use - Marketing Online Company Description
Katherine Kozel is an independent expert in using the Internet to grow small/medium size businesses. She helps business owners learn about their online options– with and without a website.

A self-confessed Internet junkie Katherine has taught related classes since 1995. For nearly 10 years, Katherine taught  E-commerce Enterprise Workshops working one on one with more than 800 Northland businesses, primarily in retail and tourism.

SEO Website Search Engine Optimisation — I love the challenge.  Small business owners are finally recognising the importance of improving search engine visibility. It is a challenge but it’s possible.  What’s needed? Refer to my free download version 10 of SEO Guidelines.

Academic background with business experience.  I hold a BA English, MA Education so I read surveys and data reports to base my advice on. That coupled with running various small businesses gives me ‘real world’ business experience so I stay practical.

Overview of E-business Advice provided by Marketing Online
Small and medium businesses have a mix of e-business needs from the basics to building an extensive fully automated e-business.

As a business owner, you can benefit from having an independent expert advise you at various stages of your e-business development. All owners start at varying stages of knowledge and use of the Internet.

Issues are often complex– may even seem overwhelming– but become manageable with an up to date expert at your side.

You can get advice in planning or repairing their websites or email newsletters, implementing online and offline strategies, optimising for search engines and customer experience or evaluating underperforming websites.

Strategic planning occurs at each step and is not necessarily linear. You can enter ecommerce from many starting points— it is what makes sense to you and your business that counts.

If you have success stories for Katherine Kozel that sprouted from any of her business website advice or from one of her Ecommerce Enterprise Workshops sponsored by BizNorth or CDC please post a testimonial or add a comment to one of her posts.

We all can learn from spirited positive discussion. This Blog is your resource.