And according to the Answer Bank website In the UK, 34,104,175 people are estimated to have Internet access. That’s 57.2 percent of the entire population. And the ‘active internet universe’ – those who surf regularly – amounts to 21,799,637. On average, surfers in the UK now spend nearly 10 hours a month online. (Others estimate the numbers are slightly smaller, but there’s no question that they are on the increase).

So why are the numbers increasing?

More and more people are coming online, especially in the home. (The numbers always jump in January as computers bought for Christmas get plugged in). If you’ve been surfing for years you may wonder how anyone manages without it… and that’s increasingly what the ‘newbies’ must be feeling as well. The price of joining in is coming down, not just for buying the hardware but for spending time online. Flat-rate monthly tariffs and high-speed broadband access being more available, the whole experience is getting better, and people are spending more time online as a result.

Now armed with this information you are now in a power position to get your online PR right! Here are some of our handy tips to make sure your website is maximising its impact.

1) Know who your customer is

I know we have heard this a thousand times but make sure you know the different target groups – look at www.fashioncapital.co.uk base – this is a portal for the whole fashion industry and as such we have press, buyers, trade, manufacturers etc on the site. It’s creation was originally a b to b site (business to business) but now its becoming more consumer orientated as the need for fashion information grows. With this in mind every small online user is valuable traffic for you and each need there own unique messages and updates.

2) Press releases must be easy to access.

Everyone knows the power of press and advertising and the more you have the more it reflects positively on you and your company. Your name is out there. Make sure that all your press releases are easy to access and visible on line. . Have an online press release hyper link – make it easy for your users to use. Don’t use click here ever – its a waste of a search!  

3) Different key words for different folks.

What are the keywords that are right for your users – once you know all your different users you can now develop articles with your key words in. The Google spider needs to pick up those buzz words when its crawling through the site – this then gets your ranking up the charts too along with the number of links to your site from other websites – again remember here you want real credible sites that have a link on your site e.g. anything that is educational or a site with a long heritage. 

4) Find out the key movers and shakers in online press

Identify the right online editor and specialists websites that are in your industry and track them down. Court them and get their support and aim for your website to be on their Useful Links page.
 

5) Identify the right bloggers

Who are the fashion industries top bloggers – one has to be Hilary Alexander from the Telegraph and she blogs all around the world as her fashion trips take her. Don’t be afraid to contact these people – they can only say no!

6) The balance between words and images

Its all about speed of response and its a known fact that images can speak a thousand words. Editorials seem to be getting shorter and shorter with copy but more images that are bold and dynamic. Get the balance right for you. If you want an educational or specialist fashion website then you need rich word content of a high quality. If its consumer fashion then the images will be paramount to success. Remember copyright laws please!!

Its a start and certainly not an exhaustive list but get that online press rolling.