The Web in Spain - Write in Spanish! 21/05/2011

Spain is an untapped market as far as websites are concerned, just take a look around to discover how many Spanish companies do not yet have an online presence, compared that is, to the rest of Europe. Many of the Spanish websites that available, are pretty poor in both content and functionality!

Most of the well written, functional websites related to Spain are written by other nationalities, there are many great websites about Spain in English, for example. Due to the lack of web presence, it is much easier to produce a Spanish website for products or services and get it to rank highly, less presence means less competition!

If you are able to put your ideas, services, products, etc. into Spanish and produce a good modern website, you have a good chance of getting a first page listing in Google. Now, although the Spanish have been slow to get onto the web for business, they still USE the web! A website in Spanish, with a high listing in Google, could, depending on it's content, be a potential gold mine!

Dusty Computers in Spain!

One of the primary reasons computer systems break down in Spain, is Overheating, often caused by the accumulation of Dust on internal fans, vents and heatsinks. Regular servicing of your computer is recommended to prevent this, including internal cleaning of the fans and vents.

We have all seen how dirty a household, or desk fan can become, especially after a few months use during summer. You PC suffer the same problem in the dusty climate of Spain and this can lead into MAJOR problems, in the not too distant future! Some PC's I have seen, have been completely suffocated by dust, even after just one years use!

If you live in Spain, get your computer serviced on a yearly basis, to ensure everything is dust free and the air can get around to cool things down! Overheating computers can result in Data Loss, or damaged components, prevention is better than cure!

Using Google - for bad Business! 12/05/2011

It has come to my attention of late, that there are several "Bogus companies", operating from the Costa del Sol, that suggest they can provide Better rankings with google and online campaign management, however, what they really offer in money generating "rip offs"!

Yes, the Costa del Sol, is still the Costa del Crime and since the people have become wise to the "time share scams" and other holiday related rip offs, the illegal tele-sales teams are now hitting a new market! Using their convincing "patter", they are now offering to increase the visibility of your website in Google and provide assistance in your online marketing campaigns!

If you have a website, you will notice an increase in the amount of email's you get, offering just this type of assistance and maybe you have had a call, or three, as well! One telesales office I know of, just changed from offering holiday properties, to becoming Google experts, overnight, putting up several websites to "make then look good" and selling a service they simply, have no clue about, this is happening all the time here!

What these companies really want, is your money! Indeed, they might, for a short time, appear to be improving the hits to your website, but this is just a show, using a little of your cash for some advertising ventures. You can be sure however, that your website will never get that "top slot" in Google and it is you that will be out of pocket!

As Genuine webmasters, who pay our Taxes and offer genuine long term search engine optimisation, these illegal, sell, sell, sell, cowboys damage the trade of companies like ours. They also, let's face it, are just ripping people off and pissing us of too! If you are contacted by a convincing person offering to improve the Search Engine optimisation of your website, or help with a great sounding online marketing package, then think twice and do your homework first!

It takes may years to become an accomplished webmaster and it takes a lot of skill to become an expert in search engine optimisation, or fully understand online marketing! Therefore, ask to see some proof that the company has been around for more than 5 minutes! Has their website got a good ranking with Google, if not, then, chances are, they are not going to help yours either!

You can check the WHO IS database, to find out when they first opened their page and often to discover who they really are! If you already own a "time-share", or have fallen for this type of scam, then I am sorry for you (idiot), but if not, follow this rule!

If you need work, or optimisation of a website, find a company and call them, if they find and call you, then it's probably a scam!

More on our Genuine Organic S.E.O services <

First blog of this year! 03/05/2011

Your Obligations as a webmaster in Spain.

Hi This is Mark, in my first blog of this year, I wanted to cover the issues surrounding your obligations as a webmaster in Spain. If you are resident in Spain, this applies to you and you really need to take further advice before embarking in your online venture. If you have a website related to Spain, then you may not need to follow this advice, but still, you should seek advice in the country you reside!

Some people seem to think, running a website is as simple as design and publish, but it's really not that simple, not if you want to stay on the right side of the law that is! As a webmaster you will have several legal obligations, these will vary, depending on the type of website you run and whether it is for profit, or non profit.

Privacy and Data Protection:

This is something that you simply must take care of if you run websites and are resident in Spain, if you fail to do this and the authorities catch you out, there are big fines that can be issued! Even if you run a non profit making website, some data protection laws still apply. I wrote an article on this in my personal blog site some time ago, so rather than do it all again, I will direct you to it... Click Here

Tax Obligations:

Of course, if you are running a website for profit, then you must be declaring that tax with the local tax office. If you are resident in Spain, you should also be classed as self employed (Autonimo) to run a profit making website and should also display your tax ID (NIF/NIE/CIF) on your website. It may take time before you are caught out for not doing this, but caught out you will be, do it legal, do it right!

Obligations of selling products online.

If you have an online shop, or sell physical products online, then you are governed by the commerce laws, for example, you will need to offer a 14 day return policy, a guarantee on the products (up to 2 years in Spain for Electronic goods) and have your business correctly registered for this purpose! It is always advisable to seek professional advice before starting up any profit taking online business!

Obligations of your Website Content.

While it may seem tempting to google up images to use on your website, or copy and paste some textual content from another website, but you could end up with a big problem. A lot of content online, text and images in protected by copywrite and it is illegal to use copywrite material on your website, without permission from the owner. You may purchase licenced photos, clipart and even text content, but as a rule of thumb, if it's not your own property, or has a licenced attached, you can get in big trouble! Write your own unique text and use your own photos, images and designs, or purchase licenced ones, you may prevent a lawsuit!

Obligation of your Email and Newsletters.

The sending of unsolicited email (Spam), for the provision of advertising is illegal and can result in your site getting blacklisted as a spam site. The way you use email for advertising is governed by the European Union and international "can Spam" laws.. More info on that can be found here

There are more obligations you will need to consider, before starting up your online enterprise, (I will write about the rest soon), so maybe it's not as easy as you first thought, eh? You may well get away with some things for some time, but, if your site becomes popular, as you hope it will, then you will start to run into probelms, start as you mean to go on, correctly!